
- .; 



LOTHF^OP PlJBLI5fiIflG (pMPAjlY 

Bo5TorJ. 



SECOND *>* V « 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



Chap. Copyright No, 

ShelLoitJt) 5* 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



YOUNG AMERICANS 
IN SPAIN 




BY 



MISS SUSAN HALE 

AUTHOR, WITH REV. E. E. HALE, OF "A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH FRANCE, 

GERMANY, NORWAY, AND SWITZERLAND," AND OF "A FAMILY 

FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA" 



FULLY ILLUSTRATED 



BOSTON 
LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY 






29612 



Copyright, 1899, 

BY 

LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY. 



two eoF. IPs WEce 



'VEO. 




YOUNG AMERICANS IN SPAIN. 



CHAPTER I. 



OVER THE BORDER. 



BSOLUTELY nothing, sir, but 
wearing apparel, and perhaps a 
few drawing materials." 

This statement in French was 
made to a mild-looking official 
who stood within a long coun- 
ter piled with trunks, boxes, port- 
manteaux and valises. On the 
outer side was an anxious crowd 
of travellers pressing and push- 
ing to find their own impedi- 
ments, in order to have them 
passed without delay. 

The mild official chalked a 
white cross upon the box under 
inspection. 

"Is that all, Monsieur?" 
"That is all, Bessie, is it not?" 
asked the gentleman who was 
conducting the transaction; "one, 
two, three and the ship trunk," he added in the same breath. 
" No, papa, I have not found the little black box yet." 
"Here it is!" cried a boy who now appeared, bumping every one 
in the crowd with the corners of a small travelling box which 3- 
poi'je- ; v a blue blouse was struggling to take away. 




14 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

" This man cannot speak anything," cried Tommy, " but he 
thinks the trunk belongs to those other people." 

Blue Blouse consented to surrender the box ; by this time the mild 
official was far away on his side of the counter, making white 
crosses upon the boxes of other impatient tourists, some of whom 
were obliged to open their trunks to satisfy the inspectors. All 
the travellers who were to go away by the train which was stand- 
ing outside the station, were in a great hurry ; all the officials who 
were to stay, appeared to be in no sort of haste. 

Finally one of them turned his attention to the little trunk. 
It was a harmless black box, marked T. P. H., but for some reason 
it appeared suspicious to the Spanish inspector, and he demanded 
that it should be opened. Straps were unfastened, the key pro- 
duced, and the top thrown back. Soiled linen, slippers, and a 
dressing-case appeared upon the surface. The man plunged his 
hand into a corner, fumbled about, punched and squeezed a sponge 
in its india-rubber bag, then withdrew satisfied ; and the party, 
now permitted to return to their seats in the train, hurried through 
the long room where many other people less fortunate than them- 
selves were still searching for their effects, and undergoing the 
examination, which, however slight it may be, is always tedious and 
vexing. They passed along the row of carriages, some of them 
empty, the doors standing open ready for their occupants who were 
still away struggling with the inspectors. In others, placid oarties 
were reading or chatting together. A lady sitting at the open 
door of a compartment, was watching for the party ; as they 
approached she called out : 

" Here I am ! I have guarded our seats like a dragon, and I 
believe we shall still have the compartment to ourselves. Is every- 
thing safe ? " 

"Yes, aunt Dut," replied the girl. "And here are your keys. 
We did not have to open one of your things, and they only fell 
foul of Tommy's small box." 

" I don't care," said the boy, " they did not find the rahatlicum ; 
it was too near the bottom." 




^&m..^>* 



OVER THE BORDER. l\ 

"You do not mean to say that any of that is left!" exclaimed 
Miss Lejeune. 

For this was Miss Lejeune who was guarding the carriage, keep- 
ing seats for the rest of the party, which consisted of herself and 
Mr. Horner, with Bessie Horner and Tommy. These now all entered 
the carriage and began to dispose of the wraps and straps which 
they had spread about upon the seats before leaving it, in order 
to make the aspect of things as forbidding as possible to passen- 
gers searching for seats. A compartment in continental railway car- 
riages is built to hold eight, but it is much more comfortable for 
four persons only ; thus it becomes one of the great arts of travel 
to keep out intruders. Four is the most convenient number for a 
party travelling in this way. It not infrequently happens that they 
can keep a compartment to themselves, and have plenty of room 
for putting up feet, leaning comfortably in corners, and above all, 
they can control the two windows. There is room for the exhibi- 
tion of all grades of good breeding, and bad manners, in this mat- 
ter of the compartment. It is perfectly fair for a party to try to keep 
the whole for themselves, especially if the train is long, with plenty 
of accommodation for all ; it is annoying when new-comers persist 
in invading the place already taken possession of, and, by trampling 
upon toes, crowding the racks, and pushing themselves into the 
vacant seats, succeed in making the whole journey uncomfortable, 
and their presence disagreeable, instead of seeking elsewhere in the 
train an empty carriage. On the other hand, perhaps the intruders 
have not been able to find another carriage, or are forced to take 
this one by the guard, who does not encourage the exclusive sys- 
tem; in this case, it is hard for the late arriving travellers, flus- 
tered and hurried, with their hands full of rugs and bags, to find 
themselves most unwelcome, with no space resigned to them, only 
forbidding glances cast upon them, and even grumbling remarks 
which they can guess at weil enough, although the language in 
which they are spoken may be foreign. 

The Homers were now settling themselves into the best corners 
of a first 'Class carriage of a train which had just crossed the frontier 



18 



a Family flight through spaix. 



between France and Spain. The station was Irun, in the Spanish 
Basque Provinces. At Hendaye, their last French town, they had 
crossed the frontier, and there changed carriages, necessary because 
the Spanish railways are built with a wider gauge than the French 
one, in order to impede invasion, it is said. Judging by the length 
of time required to transfer the ordinary travel of a period of peace, 
we may imagine that the delay to an impetuous army might be 
serious. 

The Homers had left Bayonne about noon that day, having come 
from Bordeaux the day before. The day was lovely and the scenery 
charming, with glimpses of the Bay of Biscay, at intervals, on one 




BORDkAl'X 



side, and on the other the soft line of the receding Pyrenees. It 
would have been pleasant to linger at Arcachon, a bright watering- 
place near Bordeaux, or to take a branch train to Biarritz, the favorite 
resort of the Empress Eugenie, still beautiful, though less frequented 
than in its palmier days. As they crossed the little river Bidassoa, 
which is the boundary between France and Spain, they saw a small 
island les Faisans, called also Vile de la conference, which has served 



OVER THE BORDER. Ifc 

as neutral ground for more than one meeting important in history, as 
for instance the exchange of Francis the First, of France, after he had 
been the prisoner of Charles the Fifth. 

"See!" said Miss Lejeune in a low tone, nudging Bessie, "there 
are those people who came from Bayonne. I saw them passing 
before. I suppose they have been identifying their boxes." 

" They look nice," replied Bessie, " but I am glad they are not 
coming in here, for they have such quantities of hand-baggage." 

"They must be changing their seats. Perhaps they did not find 
good ones at Hendaye." 

The party they were observing consisted of a tall elderly gen- 
tleman, and three ladies, of whom the first seemed advanced in 
middle age, while the other two, who followed, were much younger, 
one of them wearing her long hair in a braid, as Bessie still did, 
for convenience in travelling. Each of the party was laden with 
shawls, umbrellas, guide-books hastily seized upon at a sudden 
signal for flight, and a waterproof of india-rubber trailed on the 
ground from one of the overflowing heaps. Tommy jumped out and 
ran up to the youngest girl, saying in French : 

" Permettez moi, mademoiselle" while he tried to take her third 
umbrella from her. 

"Oh, thank you; don't trouble yourself," she replied in very good 
English. 

They had now reached the door of an empty carriage, and 
Tommy's assistance was by no means superfluous in helping them 
in. A little shriek, however, from the engine, startled them all, 
and he left them to hurry back to his own party. The guard 
pushed him in, banged the door, hurried every one else on the 
platform, banged more doors, and waved his hand at other guards 
banging other doors. 

" Now we are off," said Bessie, leaning back in her stuffed and 
cushioned corner. 

After this, the train stood motionless on the track for more than 
twenty minutes ; useless to inquire wherefore. Nothing of impor- 
tance occurred. The luggage had been all examined and m3-rke * 



20 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



and transferred to the vans. No passengers were missing. The 
Homers put their heads out of the window, but saw nothing to 
account for the delay. The Spanish passengers in the other depart- 
ments were not disturbed, but quietly read their newspapers and 
smoked their cigarettes. 

Thus it is upon the Spanish railways. Repose and procrastination 
pervade the system. Perhaps the officials inherit from Moorish 










BIARRITZ. 



ancestors the Mohammedan belief in "Kismet," for it is by Faith 
and Fate that trains reach their destination, rather than by rule 
and time-table. They start sometime, and they arrive somewhere, 
and that is pretty much all that can be asserted of their punctu- 
ality. 

For the rest, the carriages are comfortable and clean, the 
officials are civil and obliging the buffets frequent enough, and the 
food good enough for travellers with good digestions, and enterprise, 
to risk experiments in strange cak-s, fruits and beverages. 

After all, there is no hurry! ff you have allowed a certain time 
for seeing Spain, you may as well see it from a railway station as 
elsewhere. The Homers, like other Spanish travellers, came to feel 



OVER THE BORDER. 



n 



more intimate with the two gens d'armes, or alguazils, who stand 
at every station, than with any other inhabitants of the country. 
They stand immovable, in full uniform, with white hats that have 
a sort of flap at the back, watching the train, and awaiting its 
start. They are always on the platform as the train draws up at 
each station, and they all look so exactly alike, that it is pleasant 
to indulge the belief that they really are the same pair transferred 
by some process of swiftness, as yet unknown to the rest of the 
Spanis*!, from one station to another, to protect with their wooden 
vigilance the interests of the travelling public. 




,A'tf»N*A^WT 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER II. 



DIVIDING FORCES. 



SPAIN is entered perhaps most naturally in 
the way the Horners selected, by crossing 
the frontier at Irun, in order to pass down 
through Burgos to Madrid. It was now the 
first of May, and, although they had made all 
haste in coming from the East, where they 
had been passing a delightful and instructive 
winter, the season was somewhat advanced for 
making the Spanish trip. 

" Spain so late!" exclaimed the Wiseacres. 
" You will perish with heat." 

"You never will be able to stand the climate 
of Madrid in June." 

" Make haste to get through the southern 
part first, or you will miss all the charm of it," 
said others. 

In spite of these discouraging warnings, the 
Horners continued to feel an interest in their 
own plan, which had been made not without 
recognition of the phenomena of heat and cold, 
as affected by climate. They came from Bor- 
deaux to Bayonne through the level, monotonous, but picturesque 
Landes, where Bessie from her window had the good luck to see 
a shepherd on chanques — tall stilts — which are still worn by the 
people to move about upon the soft, marshy ground. The Landes 
is a barren stretch of country, covered with turf and moss. Pines 




DIVIDING FORCES. 



23 



are the only trees, and it would look desolate enough, except that 
where the railway crosses it, trees lately planted are beginning to 
change its aspect of desolation. 

Bayonne is a fortified town, enclosed in walls, and entered by 
four gates. It is so near the frontier of Spain that it already 
begins to have a Spanish look. The streets are lively with a great 
variety of faces, costumes and languages ; for Basques, Gascons, 
and Spaniards, are coming and going continually. The women have 
pretty handkerchiefs tied about their heads, and the men wear 
berets and ceintures of bright colors. 

The Romans constructed a citadel at Bayonne. As early as the 





BAYONNE. 



twelfth century it was a place of importance for the whale fishery, 
tanning of leather, navigation, and traffic with Spain. 

The marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine with Henry of England, 
gave Bayonne to that country. Richard Cceur de Lion extended 
its privileges, which came to be so great that it was almost inde- 
pendent. Subsequent rulers had much trouble in restraining its 
"liberties. The mayor of Bayonne used to be in those days a most 
..important magnate, executing justice as seemed risht in his own 



24 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 




eyes, upon all evil-doers. The Bayonne people were always *t odds 
with the Basques, their next neighbors, and intimate enemies ; leg- 
ends remain of endless contests, and of one great battle in 

the hall of a town where the Bay- 
onne men were surprised by a party 
of Basques. They fought with chairs 
and tables, as well as sharper weap- 
ons, until almost everybody was killed 
on each side. 

It was at Bayonne that Francis 
the First arrived from his prison at 
Madrid, and found his mother and 
the court awaiting him. Since then 
the local history of the place may be said to consist of passages 
back and forth of princes and princesses ; in the present century it 
has served often as a place of shelter for Spanish political schemers. 
The Basques, into whose province the Homers now passed, are 
said to be the descendants of the earliest inhabitants of the Penin- 
sula, and to this day they preserve their strongly-marked charac- 
teristics of custom and language. Like the Bayonne men of old, 
they have a strong sense of independence, and a determination to 
maintain laws of their own, which have been respected at all times. 
They are noted for truth and honesty, and for their unbounded 
hospitality. They are tall, and often handsome, with fair hair and 
blue eyes, like the ideal Norsemen, which comes naturally from 
their Celtic origin, different from that of other Spaniards. The 
Basque language, wholly different from Spanish, is remarkable, and 
difficult. They still wear the national costume, which is highly 
picturesque ; for the men, short dark velvet jackets, and loose 
trousers, with alfargatas on their feet, and a blue or bright red sash 
about the waist. 

The Homers at once began to enjoy the novelty of the Spanish 
national costumes. Although, as in other pa^ f 3 of Europe, these 
are now somewhat superseded by the encroaching black broadcloth 
for men, and conventional Parisian fashions for women, much still 



DIVIDING FORCES. 



25 



iemains of picturesque attire. Each province of Spain has its 
own characteristic ; different colors prevail in different places, with, 
however, a general similarity. The short breeches coming only to 
the knee, with buttons up the outside of the leg, are so much 
more becoming to the manly form than the long, slouchy trousers 
enforced by fashion, that it seems strange that man's vanity 
should have been so passive as to allow the change. Alfargatas 
are sandals of white hemp, thick and strong, for the sole of the 
foot, bound on with a mysterious arrangement of strings, generally 
black, crossed over the foot. 

It must now be explained why the Horner family is so small as to 
occupy only the four corners of their compartment. They have been 




BATTLE BETWEEN BAYONNE AND THE BASQUES. 



seen filling the whole of one without extending the actual limits of 
their party. 

Upon leaving the East. Spain was the goal towards which the 
minds of the Homers turned, but there was a difference in the 
degree of longing with which each regarded that land of romance 
*>*d sunshine. Mrs. Horner expressed a willingness to do it vica- 



!6 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

riously, and a preference to settling down somewhere quietly, 
while the rest of her family went through Spain ; after which 
they could come back and tell her all about it. This idea was 
only accepted with equanimity by the rest because it seemed rea- 
sonable. It was quite unlike the last division of the family, when 
the broad Atlantic and the narrow Mediterranean had flowed 
between the two parts. A large party is inconvenient for travel- 
ling anywhere, and especially in Spain ; not only for comfort in 
railway carriages, but by diligence, in hotels, indeed, in all manner 
of sight-seeing. 

Mrs. Horner received the full permission of the council to 
^ form a nucleus" where she liked, and to select her companions 
who were to remain with her, leaving four to undertake the 
Spanish campaign. She chose the Pyrenees for her retreat, with 
ample advice from the friendly Fords, who knew the region well, 
where to select her point of repose. Mr. Horner she appointed 
leader of the Spanish expedition, and Miss Lejeune his chief coun- 
sellor, keeping Philip as her own protector, escort and financier. 
Between the two girls it would have been difficult to select, but 
that Mary seemed hardly strong enough for the undertaking. 
Everybody depicts the condition of Spain as so deplorable, its 
roads so bad, its inns so poor, that there is a general impression 
that only giants for strength, and lions for courage, should under- 
take it. Mary herself hesitated, fearing she should be an encum- 
brance ; at times not up to the requisite mark. Bessie on the 
other hand was now in full health and spirits, with a tremendous 
appetite, and unflagging powers of endurance. She smelled the 
battle afar, and champed the bit ; it would have been cruel to 
have deprived her of it. So Mary stayed behind with her 
mother. Tommy became number four, and very joyfully. 

Mr. Hervey was out of the reckoning for either branch of the 
party. He accompanied them all to Marseilles, and thence to Lourdes, 
a way-station on the way to Bordeaux, where the great separation 
took place, the Spanish portion going on to Bordeaux, and thence 
to Bayonne, as we have seen, while the rest took a branch train 



DIVID1XG FORCES. 2Y 

up to Pierrefitte, among the mountains. Mr. Hervey still escorted 
them, wishing to see them fairly settled before he left them for 
America. 

They had a couple of hours to wait at Lourdes, where is the 
famous "Grotto of the Virgin." A close row of omnibuses waited 
at the station to convey people to the Grotto, and small boys way- 
laid every one on foot, with voluble offers to escort them thither ; 
but the Homers were not even tempted by simple curiosity to 
avail themselves of the opportunity of seeing the immense church 
which has lately been erected on the spot where, in 1758, the 
Virgin Mary is said to have appeared in person to a young girl. 
There is a fountain of supposed miraculous powers of healing, and 
thousands of pilgrims visit the place. Since the miracle has been 
pronounced "authentic" by the Church, it is wholly given over to 
their accommodation, and to making money out of them. 

A fine drizzling rain made the landscape dull, and the roads 
muddy. Mrs. Horner and Mary preferred to remain in the station 
reading guide-books and newspapers which they bought at the book- 
stall, while Mr. Hervey and Philip, with some difficulty escaping 
the attacks of tormentors, determined to take them to the Grotto, 
found their way up to an old castle picturesquely placed on top 
of a little hill. 

"What are you smiling about, Mary?" asked her mother, across 
the top of the Vie Moderne which she was looking over. 

"Poor Bessie!" replied May. "I was thinking of the last thing 
she said while we were standing on the platform before their train 
went off. She is so afraid she shall not be up to the mark about 
the Spanish galleries. She said- 'I know I shall not like the 
right things, and then aunt Gus will be dissatisfied. She will 
miss you all the time she is looking at the pictures.' " 

Mrs. Horner laughed, but said : 

"Bessie has very good taste in pictures. I dare say she will 
do very well." 

"But she has heard of the Montpensier collection which came to 
Boston long ago, and she fears all Spanish pictures are horrid." 



28 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIK. 



CHAPTER III. 



TO BURGOS. 



AT last the train was fairly off, and the Spanish Homers, as 
we must call that branch of the family who were to explore 
the Peninsula, settled themselves in the four corners of their com- 
partment, which was, luckily for them, all their own. They were 
such old travellers by this time that everything proceeded with a 
certain system. Four neat shawl-straps seemed of themselves to 
seek commodious corners of the rack above their heads. Four 
umbrellas fell together behind the straps. There was, besides, a small 
straw box containing lunch put up at Bayonne, and a little book- 
strap which held the guide-books and time-tables. 

It will be observed that each one had an individual shawl-strap 
and umbrella. This can hardly be avoided in travelling, and it is 
a good plan for each person to consider himself absolutely respon- 
sible for these two things of his own. It was the rule with every 
Horner, but, for the first time on this trip, Tommy, grown both 
strong in arm and chivalric at heart, announced to Miss Lejeune 
at the outset that he meant always to carry her strap as well as 
his own. 

It may seem to tarry-at-home travellers a want of gallantry on 
the part of the gentlemen, that the ladies of the party should ever 
be allowed to carry their own straps ; but experienced tourists 
know that the leader of a party must not be burdened with even 
the thought of such things. It is the responsibility more than the 
dead weight of hand-luggage which makes it a burden ; for in 
general there is not much carrying to be done; a stout porter is 
almost always to be found upon whose broad shoulders portman- 



TO BURGOS. 29 

teaux may be heaped, and whose hands hold all possible parcels. 
He carries everything faithfully and accepts at the end fifty cen- 
times, or its equivalent, with contented cheerfulness. 

So Miss Lejeune, accepting, for the boy's sake quite as much as 
her own, this gallant knightship, was not encumbered with wraps. 
As soon as they were started, Bessie undid the little book-strap. 

"Which will you have, aunt Gus ? " she inquired. 

" Give me O'Shea, unless your father wants it." 

" Not at all," replied Mr. Horner. / " I am going to devote 
myself to accounts, for I have not yet accustomed myself to this 
Spanish gold." 

At Bayonne Mr. Horner had exchanged his French money for 
Spanish without difficulty ; nor did 'he find it difficult to under- 
stand the latter, it is so like the? French, a peseta being worth 

somewhat, but not much, more than a franc. The sum he received 

- 

was given him chiefly in bright golfl coins worth twenty-five pesetas 
each, looking very much like English sovereigns, and of about the 
same value. The reales were rather puzzling to the Homers, because 
they heard a great deal about them, but only saw pesetas and 
countless small coins of trifling value, which they never came to 
clearly understand. Hotel bills are generally reckoned in reales, 
and as it takes four reales to make a pesela (twenty cents), the 
number at the bottom of a bill looks formidable with its sum of 
figures until it is divided by four, after which it subsides to a 
moderate number of pesetas with nothing alarming about it. 

A real is about the same as five cents ; but it seems a more 
important value in Spain, on account of the number of lesser 
coins, sometimes very small in size, for one of which may be 
bought in the street a handful of carnations, or an immense mag- 
nolia blossom ten inches in diameter. 

The time passed quickly as the train swept along through scen- 
ery sometimes grand and wild, suggesting bandits and brigands. 
The guide-books kept our party well posted on the points of inter- 
est, historic and romantic, and they would have been glad to pause 
often to make a sketch or inspect a castle. Darkness alone gave 



30 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



rest to their eager eyes, and minds excited with this first expe- 
rience of Spain. They were glad to sit silent for an hour or two. 
It was ten o'clock in the evening before they arrived in Burgos. 

Here they left the train, with all their little Spanish phrases at 
their tongues' ends, reaJy to do battle in that language. Passing 




SPANISH MULE-KUS. 



out of the station, and surrendering their tickets to the man at 

the gate, they saw a long line of omnibuses, and a long line of 

porters, all labelled — both men and carriages — with the names of 

their several hotels. This was quite as it would be elsewhere in 

Europe, and quite reassuring. Mr Horner, however, endeavored to 



TO BURGOS. 81 

;ive a Spanish turn to the way he pronounced the words Fonda del 
Vorte. The man whose hat was encircled with the same words, 
took them to the omnibus of that hotel, took the small piece of 
paper, which in Europe corresponds to our bunch of baggage- 
checks, and by and by returned with their effects, which were 
hoisted up to the top of the omnibus, and plunged down upon it 
with the usual thump. All this was all en regie, except that the 
vehicle seemed a little squarer and squalider than some they knew, 
and Tommy had perceived that three mules in a row were harnessed 
to it. The two or three people who joined them were evidently 
not Spaniards, but travellers like themselves — a grumbling French- 
man, and a very stout German with a curved nose. They started 
off with a jerk, and cracking of whips. The three mules kicked 
up their heels, as Tommy could see through the darkness from 
the little front window, and they were whirled off over a rough 
pavement, at a mad pace. The passengers were bumped against 
each other, the windows rattled, the little kerosene lamp smoked 
and smelt, the thing rocked as if it would tip over. As they 
could not in the least see where they were going, it was a little 
alarming. 

"I'm gflad mamma is not here," said Bessie, holding on to 
the side of the omnibus, "If it is all going to be like this." 

"I like it" — much, Tommy was about to add, but the sudden 
jolt of stopping shook his mouth together before he had time to 
finish his sentence. 

They were ushered into a low, dimly-lighted passage-way. Two 
or three proprietors and waiters, both men and women, came out to 
receive them, and Mr. Horner bravely began to state his views about 
rooms, in words culled from several Spanish conversation-books. 
" Qnatro camas y quatros por quatro" was what he had learned by 
heart, a troublesome collection of q's and c's, which means "four 
beds, and rooms for four." He was greatly relieved, though not 
flattered, to be answered in English, which, though not of the 
best, was more intelligible than his Spanish. They were soon 
shown to a wonderful salon, low and large, furnished with dingy 



32 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



chairs and furniture, sofas, a shabby carpet, clocks and mirrors 
after the manner of France, dimly lighted by two candles. From 
this opened at each end a bedroom, so that Miss Lejeune and 
Bessie on the one hand, and Mr. Horner and Tommy on the 
other, were comfortably established. Two truly Spanish maids came 
in, with panuelas round their heads, and bustled about the beds. 




OUTSIDE THE STAHLE. 



Miss Lejeune began trying her Spanish on them, and said, in that 
language, that she wished much to learn to speak it. 

" Poor lady'" said the girl to her companion. "The Senora 
wishes to speak our tongue, and she cannot." 

After they were refreshed a little they went up-stairs to supper, 
or late dinner. Their own rooms were up one flight from 
the street, and were directly over a stable, whence the sounds, 
and eke the odors, of animals arose, and in the morning the cheer- 
ful hee-haw of a dear donkev. There was no grand entrance or 



TO BURGOS. 3b 

broad corridor to this hostelry; all the stairs looked like back 
stairs, and the passages were dark and narrow. They were placed 
at one end of a long table, filled with guests, chiefly men, all 
apparently chance travellers. The table was lighted by hanging 
lamps (probably kerosene), and ornamented with vases of mature 
artificial flowers. The courses were served at the elbow, like any 
other table d'hote. 

So much is said and asked about the food in Spain, that per- 
haps it will be well, once for all, to give a little account of it. 
It is known, by this time, that the Homers were never fastidious 
about what they ate, and that they had failed seldom to discover 
wholesome food, in some form, wherever they went. They were 
prepared to find things pretty bad in Spain, and therefore were 
agreeably disappointed in this matter. The fact is that now 
almost all hotels in large Spanish cities, are kept either by 
French or Italians, and the food is much the same as that fur- 
nished in other hotels on the Continent ; better or worse, according 
to the grade of the hotel. This dingy old Fonda at Burgos 
differs from the hotels of Madrid and Seville, in being less like 
those of other continental towns ; so that the little bit of Spanish 
experience which the Homers had had at the outset was not 
repeated for some time. 

A real Spanish dinner begins with a soup, good or bad, 
according to the cook who makes it. Puchero follows inevitably, 
the national dish par excellence, and always served. It is not very 
different from the "boiled dish" of New England, being boiled 
meat, surrounded with vegetables, and garnished with slices of 
sausages, lard, and ham, with tomato and saffron, and red peppers, 
for even in the food local color glows, as in everything else 
Spanish. The chief ingredient is garbanzos, which Gautier describes 
as "peas striving to appear to be beans, in which they are only 
too successful." Puchero is not bad ; it is eaten with alacrity at 
first, but after being served week in and week out every day and 
perhaps twice a day, it palls upon the palate, and one reason 
for being glad to get out of Spain, is seeing the last of it. 



34 



A FAMILY FLIGHT T11KOUGH Si'AlN. 



Eggs cooked in oil — good fresh oil — which is used much instead 
of butter, or some slight entremet, follows the puchero, and then 
comes fish, at this odd point in the meal. After this the inev- 
itable roast and salad, sweets and cheese, on this occasion the 
excellent queso dc Burgos, a specialty of the place foFow, with 
delicious fruit, oranges, strawberries, or apricots, according to the 
season. 




THE CID. S5 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE CID. 

UNDER their heads were the omnibus-mules in their stalls, but 
nevertheless the Homers slept sound in their first Spanish 
bed. Before they slept, they heard the call of the night watch, end- 
ing with "All's well!" at first faint in the distance, then after a 
pause, louder, and then dying away again repeated far off. This 
reminded them of Alexandria, and made them feel quite at home. 

Next morning instead of coffee, there was brought to their rooms 
a tray containing cups of thick chocolate, and bread, with a tumbler full 
of water for each person, and resting across the tumbler a long piece 
of crisp white sugar, called aziicarillo. This is the national morn- 
ing meal, and our party was resolved to adopt the national habit. 
The chocolate was good, but very thick. " Too filling, for this time 
in the morning," said Miss Lejeune, and after this experiment she 
went back to her favorite cafe an lait, which can always be had 
fairly good. Tommy rejoiced in the chocolate, and in the sweet 
azucarillo, which should be eaten after it is dipped in water. A 
glass of water inevitably follows a cup of chocolate. It is supposed 
to aid the digestion of it. Miss Lejeune thought it would take 
more than a glass of water, of which she was not fond, to settle 
the rich heavy beverage, especially so early in the morning, and she 
seldom tried chocolate after this. This was an exception to her 
general rule of always eating in Rome as the Romans do. 

When the maids came in to make the beds, the Homers were 
still in their salon writing letters. Bessie after careful research in 
her conversation-book, asked of one of them at what time would be 
almuerzo, — breakfast. 



•36 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



" Allassonzas," replied, apparently, the maid. 

" Gracias," said Bessie, lisping the c with Castilian elegance. She 
was half encouraged, half mortified at her Spanish attempt ; evi- 
dently she had been un- 
derstood, for she received 
a prompt reply, but what 
under the sun was it ! 

" Allassonzas ! " she re- 
peated as soon as they 
were alone. They knew 
their numbers pretty 
well, but this sounded 
not like any of them. 

"I'll tell you," she 
herself exclaimed, " it 
must be eleven ! Onza 
is eleven, and they prob- 
ably say a las onzas, at 
the elevens ! " 

" Whereas we were at 
sixes and sevens," mur- 
mured her papa, show- 
ing that he was in the 
best of spirits, since he 
permitted himself a poor 
pun. 

They decided to go 
out and explore the 
streets until almuerzo, 
and reserve the Cathedral for the long afternoon ; so they sallied 
forth, Miss Lejeune armed with her sketch-book, sighing for Mary 
who was always her companion in this pursuit. 

Every step brought something amusing before their eyes. The 
very beggars in Spain wear their cloaks like hidalgos. They were 
constantly meeting Don Caesar de Bazan and all his family. 




A RAGGED HIDALGO. 



THE CID. 37 

" Tommy ! You ought to draw. Stop ! I will give you this 
extra book and some charcoal. You must ! " 

" I cannot sketch," said Tommy sheepishly ; but he took the 
things, and afterwards made a very good attempt at a dog sitting 
down. 

They all established themselves in an old arched doorway, look- 
ing through at a picturesque court. Mr. Horner kept guard, and 
Bessie sat by with a book, though she did not read much, while 
Miss Lejeune rapidly washed in effects in water colors. 

They were soon surrounded by half the town of Burgos ; not 
only boys, but women with babies, and grown men, and above all, 
dogs, who pushed in close to them to investigate, and were 
recalled by their owners ; the crowd behaved very well, and 
expressed themselves in half whispers, of which the first word 
intelligible was "perro;" they said it so often, and the dogs advanced 
so often, that the travellers soon put their ideas together. Bessie 
pointed at a dog and said inquiringly, " Perro ? " " Si Seiiorina," re- 
plied the ragged boy, and smiled a smile Murillo has often painted, 
showing all his Spanish teeth. 

The favorite hero of Spain is the Cid, Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, 
the most prominent figure in Spanish literature. The name is so 
obscured by myth and fable as to be almost lost to history. No 
doubt such a man lived, but so many impossible deeds have been 
ascribed to him, that it is hard to select the true ones. There 
are, indeed, a Cid of history and a Cid of romance, very differ- 
ent from each other, but both exerting a singular influence 
in developing the national genius. 

The Cid of history is still the hero of the early period of the 
struggle between Christian and Mohammedan, and a good type of 
the Spanish Goth of the twelfth century. Rodrigo Diaz, better 
known by this Arab title of " the Cid " ( el Seid, the lord ), was 
of a noble family. The date of his birth is uncertain, but it was 
probably between 1030 and 1040, during the reign of Fernando the 
First, a great and wise prince, under whom the tide of Moslem conquest 
<was first checked. He possessed a large dominion in Spain, but on 



38 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIX. 




COURTYARD. 



his death it was divided 
among his five sons. Cas- 
tile fell to one, Leon to 
another, and other prov- 
inces to the rest. Not long 
before, the Moorish pos- 
sessions had been broken 
up into numerous petty 
states, and hence there was 
quarrelling of every de- 
scription, — between brother 
and sister, between Cas- 
tilian and Galician, as 
well as between Christian 
and Moslem. No condition 
of affairs could be more 
favorable to the genius of 
a warrior. The Cid first 
rose to distinction in a 
contest between two San- 
chos of Castile and Navarre, 
in which he won his 
name of Campcador, — the 
champion, — by slaying the 
champion of the enemy in 
single combat. After this, 
he was entrusted with hmh 
commissions, and fought 
many a battle for his king 
then Alphonso the Sixth ; 
in 1074 he was wedded to 
Ximena, a royal princess. 
The original deed of the 
marriage contract is in 
existence. But his great 



THE CID. 39 

prowess and many successes raised up enemies who found it easy 
to kindle the jealousy of the king. He was accused of keeping 
back for himself part of the tribute he had won for the king, 
who took advantage of his absence on a raid against the Moors, 
to banish him from Castile. 

Henceforth Rodrigo begun upon the career which has made him 
famous, fighting on his own account, sometimes under the Christian 
banner, sometimes under Moorish and sometimes against both. Among 
his enterprises, the most famous was that against Valencia, which 
he took, after a nine months' siege, in 1094. This was the rich- 
est prize snatched from the Moors, for Valencia was then the 
most flourishing city on the Peninsula. The Cid took it for his 
own kingdom, and ruled it according to his own will, with vigor 
and justice, for four years. At length the party of the Moors 
most powerful at that time, the Almoravides, whom he had several 
times beaten, marched against him in great force, and his army 
was crushed. The blow was a fatal one to the now aged and 
war-worn Campeador, and he died of grief and anger, in July, 
1099. He was buried in a monastery in the neighborhood of 
Burgos, with his wife Ximena. There, in the centre of a small 
chapel, surrounded by his chief companions in arms, still rest, after 
frequent disturbances from friend and foe, the bones of this mighty 
warrior, the genuine Spanish hero, the embodiment of the virtues 
and vices of his time. 

Philip the Second made an effort to have him canonized, but Rome 
objected, and not without reason. Whatever were his qualities as 
a fighter, the Cid was not of the right material to make a saint, — 
a man who battled against Christian and Moslem with equal zeal, 
who burnt churches and mosques alike, who ravaged, plundered and 
slew for a livelihood as much as for any patriotic or religious 
purpose, and who was, in fact, about as much of a Musselman as 
a Christian in his habits and character. 

This is the Rodrigo of history. The Cid of romance, of legend 
and drama, is a different character, invested with all the attributes 
of a grand hero. He is the type of all knightly virtue, the mirror 



40 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



of patriotic duty, the flower of all Christian grace. He is Roland 
and Bayard in one. From the time of his actual life he has been 
the subject of song, and within a hundred years from his death 
he had become the centre of a whole system of myths. The cel- 
ebrated poem of the Cid was written in the latter half of the 
twelfth century ; there are hundreds of ballads relating to him, 
some of them full of simplicity and fire. His horse Bavieca, and 
his sword La Colada, are as famous as himself. 

Although the glory of the Cid spreads all over Spain, it is at 



" - *as 



?mq 




COFFER OF THE CID. 



Burgos that the interest in him centres, since it is there that he 
was born, and there that his bones actually repose. When the 
Homers were going through the Cathedral, they were shown in a 
side chapel a heavy wooden coffer supported high up against the 
wall upon iron brackets. It is a worn-out, worm-eaten old box, and 
looks like the grandfather of all trunks. This is the celebrated 
Cofre del Cid ; one of two trunks which he once left as security 



THE CID. 



4L 



with a Jewish banker, for a loan of six hundred marks, assuring, 
them they contained all his jewels and gold, but that they were 
not to open them until his return. The true contents of the boxes. 
were sand and rubbish, heavy enough to deceive the bankers. If 
he came back and paid the sum he had borrowed, this was all 
very well; there is no proof that he ever restored principal or 
rendered interest, but we will hope that he did so. 

Tommy asked why the coffer was thus suspended on high, and 
the guide told him it was to keep it out of reach of too eager 
tourists and admirers of the Cid, who could not resist splitting off 
little bits of the wood as mementos, when it was within their 
reach. 




42 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPALN. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE CATHEDRAL. 



WHILE they were eating almuerzo, a merry meal in the dining- 
room above stairs, with a mixed collection of travellers from 
various countries, all finding fault with the dishes in a variety of 
languages, Miss Lejeune said, " If each one of our fellow-guests had 
what he wishes to eat set before him, what a mixed menu it would 
make ! 

"Yes!" exclaimed Tommy; "liver, sausage and macaroni and 
baked beans and edible bird'snests." 

"O come, Tommy, there are no Chinese here!" said Bessie. 

" No, but very likely some one would order it for a delicacy." 

" Quite raight, my young friend," said a stout German next 
Tommy, who understood a little English, and thought he could 
speak it; "most peoples shall tink him own dish what most nasty 
to all nations." 

The sentiment was good, although obscured by its imperfect expres- 
sion. Tommy controlled his face, and waited till they had all left 
the room before he repeated the sentence to his family. 

After very good black coffee, the Homers sallied forth to see 
the Cathedral, through the picturesque streets, always admiring the 
groups of beggars. They surrendered themselves, though reluctantly, 
to a guide, as they had not much time to spare. Such a guide 
is at once the stay and torment of sight-seekers. He pesters 
them with gabble, drags them to see things they do not want to 
see ; he makes them stand staring at worthless relics, and tears 
them away from the contemplation of a masterpiece. He is igno- 
rant of art, history, men and manners, and yet assumes superiority 




PATIO OF A SPANISH INN. 



THE CATHEDRAL. 45 

over travellers because he knows, and they do not, the way around 
his one cathedral. It is delightful to dispense with the services cf 
any guide, and driving off the swarms of them that come buzzing 
about, to explore the intricacies of a town, a church, or cathedral, 
according to one's own sweet will; then every new object seems 
a discovery, snatched from the whole collection of wonders. The 
tourist can make his own decision upon the merits of a work 
of art, and follow undisturbed the thread of thought it awakes. 
This course can best be pursued when there are several days to 
be sptmt in one place", and time enough to spare for the loss of 
it, which is sure to come from turning the wrong corner, mistak- 
ing the point of view, and thus dilating with the wrong emotion. 

A wily old valet de place leads his victims straight to head- 
quarters. He really does know best what they wish or what they 
ought to see, indeed, the thing that makes him so disagreeable is 
that he does know more than they do. Then he has keys to 
locked-up chapels, or can procure them, and he knows the short- 
est way round the building. The quickest way is to surrender to 
him entirely, go everywhere he suggests, believe everything he 
says, for the moment. This was the Homers ' plan up to a cer- 
tain point, when often after a tramp of several hours, they some- 
times " bolted " unexpectedly, and, to the astonishment of the 
hitherto flattered guide, absolutely refused to stir another step, 
demanding to be restored to their hotel. 

Matters reached no such extreme at Burgos. They found their 
way alone to the Cathedral easily, and there fell into the hands 
of a mild, mechanical man who could do a little routine English. 
He trotted them round the place, showing everything, and was 
neither too loquacious nor too persistent. 

The Cathedral of Burgos is undoubtedly one of the finest in 
Europe ; a grand specimen of the thirteenth-century Gothic. If, 
since it is the first Cathedral studied, after entering Spain from 
Bayonne, it is overlaid by other impressions in the mind of the 
tourist who presses on to Andalusia and the wonder of Seville 
and Grenada, yet nevertheless, in the quiet hours of repose when 



46 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

the journey is over, the vision of it comes back in all its force 
and purity. 

The towers and pinnacles are open work, and in the distance 
they are seen against the blue sky like filigree work, and at night 
stars can be seen through then. The Cathedral is somewhat shut 
in, as it is built on uneven ground, surrounded by poor little 
houses ; and the Archbishop's palace is so close to it, as to form, 
as it were, a part of the same building; and on the opposite side 
a good impression of the inward arrangement can be had from the 
outside. 

After studying for some time the innumerable statues of angels, 
martyrs, warriors and princes which adorn the facade, our little 
party entered the immense building, and stood silent before the 
grandeur of the interior. It was impossible to do more at first 
than to look silently around, following the lines of the columns, 
and curves of the arches, while a vague delight and wonder came 
filling the mind. 

After a little while Mr. Horner came nearer to Miss Lejeune, 
and said softly : 

" This is the real thing ! " 

" Oh, yes ! " she replied. " It satisfies all my requirements for a 
Spanish cathedral." 

It was many minutes before they felt inclined to do more than 
to move about, receiving, without analyzing, the effect of the vast 
proportions of the whole, graceful at the same time, and harmonious, 
until the guide became impatient, and they followed him about to 
the different chapels, eacn itself like a church, in richness and 
variety. In each is entombed some great personage, with his 
recumbent statue extended in the middle, the head upon a pillow, 
and the hands clasped upon his breast, — priests clothed in their 
festival robes, warriors in armor, princesses in regal attire; and 
all surrounded with a profusion of carvings, gold decorations cover- 
ing the walls, altars and ceilings ; every chapel contains an army 
of angels and saints cut in marble or wood, painted, gilded, 
clothed. 



T1JE CATHEDRAL. 



47 



It is this splendor and richness of decoration which distin- 
guishes the cathedrals of Spain ; gold, color, carving, and everywhere, 
and yet there is nothing either gaudy or tawdry in the effect, for 
all at the same 
time is sombre 
and grand, per- 
haps because the 
proportions are 
so large, but 
more because it 
is all genuine 
work. After the 
solemn sincerity 
of these cathe- 
drals, at the 
same time full 
of richness and 
warmth, that of 
Cologne seems 
cold and bare, 
and the decora- 
tions of the 
modern French 
churches flimsy. 

Descriptions of 
cathedrals are al- 
ways tedious to 
those who have 
not seen them, 
and it will not 
do to weary the 

reader with a detailed account of all the Homers visited. Their 
general impression of richness and grandeur lasted all through 
their expedition in Spain. It was at Burgos that Bessie first removed, 
her idea of " doing a cathedral" from the category of idle sight- 




INTERIOR OF A SPANISH CATHEDRAL. 



48 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



seeing, to that of the most thorough enjoyments of travelling. 
They looked with wonder at the celebrated Cristo de Burgos, 
which is said by tradition to have been carved by Nicodemus 
shortly after the burial of our Lord. It was found, according to 
the legend, inside a box, floating in the sea, and after many 
adventures, it finallv was brought from this cathedral to a convent. 
It is certainly of very early date, and admirably modelled, with a 
deep expression of pain ; the hair, beard, eyelashes, etc., art all 
real. With strange taste, the image is clothed with a small 
embroidered petticoat. 

Even Tommy lik^d this cathedral better than most he had seen 

in his travels, because as he ex- 
pressed it, " the side-shows were 
all first-rate." The clocks of the 
cathedral are furnished with small 
figures, which come out as the 
hour strikes, like the famous one 
at Berne. About one of these the 
sacristan told them this legend, in 
a broken sort of French, which 
made it more impressive. 

It was about a king of Spain, 
Enrique the Third, who lived in 
the fifteenth century, and a young 
girl who used to see him frequently 
in the cathedral, although no word 
was ever exchanged between them at their meetings. 

One clay in leaving the church, the young unknown dropped her 
handkerchief. The king picked it up and gave it to her, when the 
fair one disappeared and was seen no more. A year after, the 
king became lost in the woods one time, and was attacked by six 
hungry wolves ; he killed three of them with his sword, but after 
that he began to feel tired ; and he was about to be devoured by 
the others, when suddenly he heard the sound of a gun, and a 
strange cry, at which the three wolves fled. He turned round and 




^»_ --- — 



ONE OF THE P. ELLS. 



THE CATHEDKAL. 4i> 

beheld the young woman he had seen in the cathedral. He advanced 
towards her, when she said with a strange smile, " I love the 
memory of the Cid so much that I love all that is great and 
noble ; thus I have wished to consecrate to you my life. Accept 
the sacrifice." 

As she spoke thus she fell dying to the ground, pressing to her 
heart the king's handkerchief. 

The king, moved by such devotion, wished to honor the memory 
of his preserver, and hit upon the singular plan of putting an image 
into a clock in the cathedral, which at every hour should remind 
him of the cry of the girl in the forest. He wished the figure to 
repeat the very words she used, but the skill of the Moorish artist 
of that period was not up to the idea, and he achieved only a 
puppet of life-size, which made a kind of shriek when its time 
came. It caused so much amusement afterwards to the irreverent, 
and disturbance to the faithful, that its springs were broken by the 
order of the ruling bishop, and ever since the puppet has been 
silent. 

Spain is full of legends and romances, which seem worth listening 
to on the spot, however absurd they become when transferred from 
their natural surroundings. The Cid still lives. Roderick the Goth 
is a fact, and as for the Moors, they assert their rightful claim to 
the soil everywhere, while Ferdinand and Isabella appear like mon- 
sters who drove them from their inheritance. The defects in the 
Moorish morality are forgotten, and they figure as martyrs to the 
imagination. 



5( 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER VI. 

A LONG NIGHT. 

SHORTLY before nine p. m., after another meal in the up- 
stairs dining-room, the Homers climbed again into the 
mule-bus and started off to the station. They had seen the empty 
vehicle every time they went in or out of the hotel, for it was. 




OMNIBUS WITH MULES. 



kept out in the street before the door, hard by the mules in their 
stable under the house. 

Mr. Horner, and even Miss Lejeune, were a little low in their 
minds on account of anticipating the long night journey which 
was before them. This is the great drawback of travelling in 
Spain. The through trains all fly by night like bats, and turn 
and twist as you may, and thumb your time tables o'er and o'er, 
there is no method of evading the discomfort. The party all had 
such a passion for looking out of windows at the scenery, wherever 
they were, that it was a positive loss to them to pass over so 
"nuch ground in the dark, and this regret was added to the dis- 



A LONG NIGHT. 



&4 



comfort of a nights journey. However, it was noj, ,o Oe helped. 

After a little futile inquiry for wagons-lits, which are supposed to 
exist, but which are always on some other line than the f y oe where- 
they are wanted, they 



settled themselves into 
their corners, with 
through tickets for 
Madrid, facing the 
orospect of eleven 
hours and a half shut 
up in their carriage. 

They were all so 
tired after a day of 
bus)' sight-seeing that 
they felt sure of a 
good nap to begin 
with, ; ,nd so without 
their usual lively chat, 
they prepared for the 
night : opening the 
straps and disposing of 
rugs and shawls as 
best they could in the 
way of pillows and 
coverings. Luckily 
there was no one else 
H the carriage, as 
Miss Lejeune observed 
with thankfulness. 

" So I can make 
myself zz h idee as as 
1 please/' she reeled. 

This she proceeded 
to c!o "by tying 1 p hkic 
veil tigm across ner 




FLOWERING ALOE. 



52 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

forehead, and bringing the ends around under her chin, after 
which she crammed herself back into a corner with her feet up and 
well tucked in. They had drawn the thin silk curtain across the 
hole in the top of the carriage through which the gleam came 
from a dim lamp, but some little light still made itself felt. 

"I love to look at you, aunt Gus," said Bessie sleepily; "you 
look like a mysterious blue sphinx in that corner off there. The 
veil is very becoming so." 

" I am glad you are my only admirer just now," replied Miss 
Lejeune gloomily. 

Tommy was apparently fast asleep in the position with which he 
had first dropped; but he suddenly exclaimed: 

"What has become of the H. family! We saw nothing of them 
at Burgos ! " 

"To be sure !" cried Bessie, waked up by the question. "They 
must be lost. We have not seen them since Irun ! Papa, have 
you seen them ? " 

" Hm-m-m," was the sole reply of her father. 

"Hush, Bessie." said Miss Lejeune; "your father is asleep already." 

" Valladolid ! " he murmured in a thick and sleepy voice. 

" Do you suppose," said Bessie, now in a much lower tone, n that 
they went on to Valladolid without stopping at all at Burgos ? They 
must be idiots! " 

" You don't know, my dear. I believe Valladolid is very inter- 
esting, or they may have special reasons. " 

" She looked like an artist, the tall one, " said Bessie ; " are there 
pictures at Valladolid ? " 

"Do shut up!" barked Tommy; "can't you let a fellow 
sleep ? " 

The remonstrance though inelegant was just, and Bessie, without 
resenting it, closed her lips and eyes at once. 

So they all travelled to Madrid through the Land of Nod, for nod 
it is, with the jar and jolt of the train. All was silence in every 
compartment as the long train swept through the darkness, occa- 
sionally stopping with a jerk at a station, then starting off with 



A LONG NIGHT. 



53 



another jerk. The four were not often all asleep at the same 
time. Each had his or her periods of misery, when a change of 
position was absolutely necessary. There was a twist and a turn, 
a thumping of pillows, and then the weary head fell down again 
in a new posture, not better, perhaps, but at least different. 

Once they were all awake but Tommy, who slept straight through 
like a top. They compared watches, and found it was only half- 
past twelve. The night seemed endless ; and when it came to an 
end, the journey did 
not. At dawn they 
bestirred themselves 
and looked out upon 
the landscape. It 
was raining steadily, 
and the country was 
wild and barren in 
the extreme, without 
verdure or vegeta- 
tion ; huge piles of 
irregular rocks were 
tumbled about, with 

here and there a scrubby pine. Salvator Rosa might have painted 
a bit anywhere, into which a bandit with his gun would have 
come very naturally, 

How the Homers felt is well known to those who themselves 
have waked up at dawn in a railway carriage with the prospect of 
several hours more travel. Their mouths were parched, their cheeks 
hot, their heads dishevelled, their limbs all stiff and cramped : and 
they were faint for want of coffee or something refreshing. The 
lunch-box had chocolate in it, dried ginger and a few sweet biscuit ; 
but Tommy was the only one who found these things at all accept- 
able. 

A woman at a station was calling " Leche ! leche /" and Mr. 
Horner bought from the window in exchange for a very small coin, 
a lovely red jug containing goat's milk. He and Tommy liked it, 




SPANISH MILK JUGS. 



»4 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



really, but Miss Lejeune shook her head without trying it, and Bessie 
shuddered aaer one taste, and took no more. 

" How stupid you are not to like milk," said Tommy crossly. 
Tommy was rather cross, but nobody minded it. They were too 
uncomfortable to mind it. 

" It is milk that does not like me," said Bessie meekly. " I have 
no objection to it." 

As the light strengthened, their spirits rose somewhat by the 
gloomy interest of the wet and dripping landscape. The famous 




MADRID IN THE DISTANCE. 



Escorial was passed upon their left, they swept through the last long 
tunnel, and saw Madrid in tne distance, nearing fast, the royal palace 
crowning the height in front 

The scene at the station was mucn like any other European 
experience. Everything showed that they had reached a large 
cosmopolitan centre. Cabs and omnibuses were in attendance, and 
they were soon passing through a gateway to ascend the steep 



A LONG NIGHT. 



55 



hill leading to the town. An official stopped them at the entrance- 
gate, and fumbled with their hand-bags ; but it was only a brief 
formality, and soon they found themselves in comfortable rooms at 
the Hotel de la Paix, on the beautiful Puerta del Sol. 

" Puerta del Sol," said Tommy, who had recovered all his anima- 




ROYAL PALACE, MADRID. 

tion and usual politeness. "I thought it was the name of the 
hotel." 

"So did I, to tell the truth," said his father; "or at least my 
ideas were not clear about it." 

" Oh, papa ! you must have known that the Puerta del Sol was 
a beautiful great square," said Bessie. 

"My dear," said he smiling, "I have not been reading up on 
Spain as you have. You must remember I have scarcely looked at 
a map. This is your expedition and Augusta's." 

This conversation was shouted across the omnibus as they 



56 A LONG NIGHT. 

rattled along the paved street, and Miss Lejeune, who never would 
speak in a noise, smiled and nodded, and significantly patted the. 
little parcel of guide-books and maps which she held firmly in her 
hand. 

It was, in the main, Miss Lejeune who had laid out the plan of 
the Spanish excursion. She had long longed for the Peninsula. In 
her youth, long ago, the house of a friend who married a Spanish 
explorer, was filled with curiosities, which he had brought home,, 
and the acquaintance with these things thus early planted iu 
her mind a strong wish to visit the country ; there were engrav- 
ings from Velasquez, terra cotta images of matadors, mantas of 
glowing stripes, and salvers or beaten brass, all of which helped to> 
make the desire grow. As time went on, she gained an under- 
lying conviction that sometime she was to go to Spain. She- 
trifled a little with the language, and even went through a 
grammar. The chances which had led her several times over 
Europe, and to the East, had not been favorable until now, when' 
she was really about to visit her long-established Chateaux en 
Espag/ie, with those dear Homers, who now furnished her life 
with its chief enjoyment. She was very happy in being thus 
able to carry out her dream, and in being allowed to have her 
own way about it, too. 

Miss Lejeune had omitted Valladolid in her plan, as it was- 
wise to press on towards the south before the weather should 
become too hot. But Valladolid is an interesting place which might 
well be used to break the long journey from Burgos to Madrid. 

It was for a long time the residence of the kings of Castile,, 
and later, in the time of Philip the Second, who was born there, 
it was the most prosperous city in Spain. It was he, however, who* 
removed the court to Madrid, and this proved a death blow to 
the prosperity of the deserted city. 

The Museum and Cathedral contain some interesting pictures- 
and sculpture. The Cathedral was never finished on the scale 
intended by Herrera, the architect of Philip the Second, who made the 
designs for it, and began it, because he was called to Madrid in* 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



57 



order to build the Escorial ; and when the court went to Madrid, 
no funds were forthcoming to finish the abandoned Cathedral, and 
so it was merely put into condition to be used, as it was, for 
public service. The libraries contain some rare old books ; and the 
streets, like all Spanish towns, are full of picturesque subjects for 
sketches. 




&> 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN- 



CHAPTER VII. 



MADRID STREETS. 




A 1 



excellent French 
waiter, with a white 
cravat, and a napkin under 
his arm, came to take their 
orders, — so there was no 
occasion for Spanish yet, — 
and soon returned bring- 
ing a broad plateau, or tray, 
loaded with refreshing coffee, 
hot milk, chocolate for Tom- 
my, bread and butter and 
boiled eggs, for which Mr. 
Horner stipulated. Although 
his whole family were fond 
of the European system of 
eating little or nothing early 
in the morning, Mr. Hor- 
ner retained a secret prej- 
udice in favor of something 
solid, and, whenever he could, he added oeufs a la coque to the order. 
What was more, he generally found that all the eggs were eaten ; more 
than one, then, must share his secret preference, for Tommy and he 
could not eat them all. But Miss Lejeune and Bessie, in Spain, kept 
up the theory maintained by all the rest in previous journeys, that 
they wished nothing but bread and butter with the coffee. The Hotel 
de la Paix is a large French hotel. Miss Lejeune and Bessie 



COAT OF ARMS. 



MADKiD STREETS. 

shared a room with two high beds placed end to end, filling up 
ihe whole of one side. Upon a great round table which took up 
the middle of the room, coffee was served, and Mr. Horner and 
Tommy joined the ladies to partake of it. Their own room was 
close at hand, smaller, but with the same view. The large windows all 
had projecting balconies, from which they could look sideways 
toward the Puerta del Sol, although the rooms looked upon 
a narrow side street. 

As soon as Bessie had refreshed herself with one cup of cof- 
fee, she went to the window and established herself there, roll in 
hand, that she might lose none of the wonders of the new city- 
while she was eating. All the windows had balconies, and many 
of them striped awnings. Opposite, and somewhat lower, a barber 
had a little bird with a red tuft on its head, hopping about with 
a. long string to its leg. Within the room Bessie could see the 
barber, shaving ; but from time to time, he left his customer to 
come and see the bird, with his cigarette in his mouth ; kissed his 
hand to it, puffed a little smoke in its face, to console it for 
being tied, and went in again. A hand-organ below was playing 
•charming Spanish dance-music. A still narrower street, a mere 
lane, in fact, opened nearly opposite them. It was swarming with 
people in strange colors, and a group had collected at the corner 
to listen to the announcement of a bull-fight. This was Sunday, 
and the great square was filled with people, the women with man- 
tillas on their head, and fans in their hands instead of parasols. The 
fashionable ladies are giving up the pretty mantilla for Paris bon- 
nets, which is a great pity, for a bonnet does not look right on 
a Spanish fair one; but it is still the rule to wear the mantilla 
to church, so that in the morning the streets of Madrid are filled 
with devotional mantillas, while later on in the day only foolish French 
hats prevail. 

Suddenly Bessie called out, " Oh, come ! come quick ! " and the 
others reached the balcony in time to see the end of a cavalcade 
■of royal guards in white bournons, following the king's carriages. 
Bessie had seen the whole ; a string of carriages with outriders, 



60 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 

postilions, and much gold ornament, followed by mounted guards. 
It was his Majesty going to church. 

These excitements, however, could not make the travellers forget 
their fatigue. It is the worst part of night travelling, that it unfits 
one for much sight-seeing the next day, and thus the time is as 
much lost as it would be in the train. While Mr. Horner and 
Tommy went out to find their bankers, Miss Lejeune and Bessie 
were refreshed with delicious baths, which were to be had in this 
hotel. The others returned with their hands full of letters from 
America, England, and Luz, the little place in the Pyrenees where 
were Mary, Philip and their mother. 

" Oh, how splendid ! " exclaimed Bessie, as she took her share. 
" But I am so sleepy that I must go to bed, and read them 
afterward. Is everybody well, papa ? " she asked, for she saw the 
well-known handwriting of her mother upon the sheet he was 
reading. 

"Perfectly; and they seem very happy there," he answered. 

"I must write them volumes," she continued; "but how hard 
it will be when we want to be in the streets all the time!" 

"You had better take long naps, both of you," said Mr. Horner, 
"and Tommy, too. Almuerzo is eleven, and after that we can drive 
or walk." 

Mr. Horner had letters of introduction to several people in 
Madrid, but he did not deliver them at this time. It was their 
plan to come back to Madrid later, after taking their fill of 
Andalusia, and the southern wonders of Spain. 

Nevertheless, they wished to see all they could of the national 
capital this time, and in the afternoon, thoroughly refreshed by 
sleep, and almuerzo, and with glowing and grateful hearts, because 
of good news in all their letters, they took an open carriage to 
drive about Madrid. 

Their driver was a Madrileno, but with the help of a few words 
of explanation given him by the poi'tier, who spoke everything, 
before starting, they made him understand that they wished to see 
the principal points of interest within the city. 









~7F 

■ t 



&SS* 




5PERXA t>EL 50L| 



MADRID STREETS. 63 

The Puerta del Sol, the central square of Madrid, is a large 
sunny space with a fountain in the middle, wide streets and broad 
sidewalks surrounding it, and tall handsome buildings on all sides, 
chiefly hotels with gay shops on the street-floor. There are tracks 
for the ferro-carrily tramway, or horse-cars, as we call them ; besides, 
in Madrid, there are large heavy vehicles like horse-cars, which go 
where they please ; not on any track. The plaza and streets leading 
from it are so wide that these cars do not encumber them, nor 
interfere materially with the crowds of gay equipages which throng 
them, especially on Sunday, when all the world is going to the 
Bull Ring. 

The Homers were not going to the Bull Ring, but their carriage 
joined the gay crowd sweeping in that direction, along the slope of 
the Calle de Alcala, passing the Fountain of Cibeles, where they 
turned to drive along the Prado, a broad, beautiful avenue planted 
with trees and ornamented with fountains, whose plashing water 
sparkled in the sun. Iron chairs were, placed in rows, which could 
be hired for a trifling sum, by any one wishing to rest. Here 
first the Homers observed the " cooling-drinks shops," — booths where 
all sorts of refreshing and not intoxicating drinks are sold. The 
Spanish have an extreme fondness for this harmless refreshment. 
The number of such places shows the demand for them. The 
venders call out, " Aqua fresca como la nieve " (water cool as snow), 
and for a very small coin they will furnish a glass of something 
cold and sweet, flavored with strange essences. Tommy's favorite 
was horchata de chufas, a very superior beverage of a milky appear- 
ance, and a flavor something like orgeat. All these drinks are 
very mild, and are but slightly tinged with the flavoring substance. 
There has to be a good deal of " make-believe," as in the case of 
the lemonade of the Marchioness, in order to discover what one is 
tasting. It gives a pleasant impression of the moderation in the 
taste of a people which contents itself with such mild refreshment, 
instead of the heavy lager which the German loves, or the fiery 
drinks of all Northern nations. 

The booths where these things are furnished are kept by some 



64 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



old woman, very friendly, offering chairs, or perhaps a small girl, 
hardly tall enough to reach across her counter. The water used is 
in tall jars, porous, to keep the water cool by perspiration, a thing 
the Homers had learned to understand on the Nile. 

It was much later that the children became learned in cooling 




COOL'.NG DRINKS. 



drinks. On that first day they only wondered at the little stalls 
where they were sold. 

There were so many things to see that they could not fasten 
their attention upon any one set of impressions. Their heads were 
turning from side to side, to catch glimpses of fine horses dashing 
by them; — ladies in full costume, mantilla and fan, leaning back in 
their open carriages, — fountains, monument?, fine buildings, set their 
brains in a whirl. 



MADRID STREETS. 



65 



Madrid is said to have little or nothing Spanish about it ; to be 
a feeble imitation of Paris ; in short, only a second-rate European 
metropolis. The Homers did not agree with this verdict, for they 
found it marked, on the contrary, with great individuality. The 
streets and modern buildings are after the manner of French 
models, undoubtedly, but there is a Southern swing in the life and 
movement of the sun-bathed city ; and though the population has 
a European character in its dress, many picturesque costumes are 
to be seen. The equipages and horses exhibit an amount of 




EL BUEN RETIRO. 



wealth, taste and extravagance at least equal to that of any city of 
the same size in Europe. 

They passed the facade of the Royal Museum, which contains 
the famous picture gallery, promising themselves, on their return 



66 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



from Andalusia, many visits to its treasures. It is a modern 
building with columns, imposing in appearance, though perhaps too 
low for its great length. It was fitted up for pictures in the early 
part of this century ; the collection of splendid works of art it 
contains makes it perhaps the finest gallery in the world. 

They drove through the Buen Retiro, a pleasant shady promenade 
planted with hedges of lilac and other spring flowers, still in bloom. 
Their driver brought them back by a turn quite around the town, 
that they might see the outside of the handsome Royal Palace, 
and through the Plaza del Oriente, where is a fine equestrian statue 
of Philip the Fourth on his war charger. The design was by 
Velasquez, and Galileo is said to have suggested the means by 
which the balance is preserved. The horse is rearing so high that 
this is affected only by having the front part hollow, and the back 
solid. 




HISTORICAL. m 



CHAPTER VIII. 



HISTORICAL. 



AS they were coming back to their hotel through the steep- 
and somewhat narrow Calle Mayor, a train of royal carriages 
passed them. At first, Bessie and Tommy thought they were to 
meet his Majesty face to face, but it was only the royal baby 
returning from her airing, in two carriages, with postilions and 
outriders. The poor little thing, although wrapped about in rich 
robes of soft white, looked as helpless as any other mortal child. 
She is an object for sympathy rather than envy, because she is. 
** princess, when she should have been a prince, heir to the 
throne upon which her papa finds his seat somewhat unsteady. 

It is now nine years since Alphonso the Twelfth was proclaimed 
King at Madrid. He is the eldest son of Isabella the Second, herself 
the daughter of King Ferdinand the Seventh, and of Princess Marie 
Christine of the two Sicilies. Isabella was proclaimed queen in 1833, 
when she was but three years old. Ten years later, when she was. 
thirteen, she was declared to be of age by a decree of the Cortes, and 
was married not long after to her first cousin, Francisco, a son of 
the brother of King Ferdinand the Seventh. It might seem that 
the eldest son of parents, both of whom have a claim to the throne,, 
would have made his way to it, without opposition, in the due 
course of events ; but this has not been the case. On the contrary, 
civil war raged from the time of Isabella's accession to the throne 
up to the moment when her son was placed upon it, and ever 
since politicians and patriots have watched with anxiety the doubtful 
experiment of a government under the present constitution, — at 
monarchy shorn of the splendors which formerly added so mud 
to the presence of a king, and closely restricted in its powe^ 



-38 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



The constitution declares Alphonso the Twelfth of Bourbon, io be 

"He legitimate king of Spain. His person is inviolable, but his minis- 

.^3 are responsible, and all his orders must be countersigned by a 

minister. There is a Cortes, which shares me power of the king, 




FOUNTAIN OF NKPVUNE. 



imposed, like our Congress, of two legislative bodies. The Senate 
is composed of sons of kings and other personages, and the 
Congress of Deputies chosen by the people. 

Thus it will be seen, that the plan is to have the government as 
free as that of a Republic, while the head of it is called a king, and 
he is permitted to be the head on account of his hereditary rights, 
instead of being the choice of the people ; yet he would not remain 
at the head for an instant without the assent of the public. A 
country which from all time has been governed by kings, probably 
feels more at ease under the nominal rule of a monarch ; ar 1 this 
is the present condition of things in Spain. Repuplican government 
■has been tried more than once in the tempestuous period since the 



HISTORICAL. 09 

death of Ferdinand, in 1833; and it is because all lovers of 
Spanish prosperity feel that the only hope for Spain is in a period 
of peace and tranquility, that there is a general hope for a 
continuance of the experiment by which Alphonso and his dynasty 
.may be firmly established upon the throne. For this reason, a little 
prince would be hailed with delight as heir to the throne. The 
Spaniards would be kindled to something like enthusiasm for a 
future king, born in a peaceful period, of the line of inherited 
ro)alty; so the disappointment was great when a little princess 
appeared into the world. She should have been a prince, and this 
is why the Homers called her the poor little princess, in spite of 
her having a duchess for governess, and outriders before and 
behind when she takes her little airing. 

" How stupid of her not to be a prince ! " said Tommy, when 
these things were being explained to him. 

"She cannot help it," said Bessie, . " and it is a shame that 
people should not be just as fond of her as fifty boys." 

"I dare say her papa aud mamma are fond of her," said Miss 
Lejeune ; "it is only the public that is disappointed. Very likely she 
will have a much happier life than a little prince would have done. 
In the first place she will not be spoiled," — 

"Nor fussed over about her health," continued Bessie, "nor made 
to wear crowns and carry sceptres. I dare say she will live to 
a peaceful old age, with plenty to eat and drink, and good clothes, 
in a comfortable palace all her life." 

"And paint very nicely in water-colors," added Miss Lejeune. 

It is perhaps necessary to touch briefly upon the troubles in 
Spain which have brought the nation to this fervent desire for 
peace and repose on any terms. 

Ferdinand the Seventh was an unworthy, contemptible king ; one of 
the worst specimens of the Bourbon type. His father, Charles 
the Fourth, abdicated the throne in terror, the nineteenth of March, 
1808, when Napoleon's army was marching upon Madrid, and announced 
his son Ferdinand as his successor ; whom, too, Napoleon forced to 
abdicate, for as usual, it was his plan to furnish his own king to 



70 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



Spain ; and Joseph Bonaparte entered Madrid and took possession 
of the throne. But this could not be allowed to last. The 
opposition of the Spaniards was enforced by the arrival of ten 
thousand English troops in Portugal, under Sir Arthur Wellesley,. 
who now for the first time began that resistance to Napoleon 
which, as Wellington, he crowned at Waterloo. The struggle in 

Spain lasted six years, but by 
that time the invincible legions 
of Napoleon were defeated. During 
this time the Emperor himself 
descended upon Madrid ; Sir John 
Moore was defeated and killed, 
the wonderful siege of Saragossa 
took place, when the resisting 
Spaniards, conducted by Palafox, 
and inspired by the maid of Sara- 
gossa, held out fifty clays against 
the French, and many another dis- 
aster fell upon one army or the 
other; but in the end the French 
were driven our, and left the country after the famous battle 
of Vittoria, June. [813, when Wellington, as Sir Arthur Wellesley 
had already become, ended the contest. 

Joseph was deposed. Ferdinand was reinstated. At the same 
time another Bourbon prince, Louis the Eighteenth returned to rule 
in France, for Napoleon's career was over. 

But a worthless prince, like Ferdinand, had no power, if he had 
inclination, to heal the wounds of a country bleeding after the 
contest of six years. Civil war broke out, and with it came misery, 
famine and ruin. Ferdinand was carried off to Cadiz a prisoner 
by his subjects, but was again liberated by a foreign army, this 
time from France. It was after this that he married his fourth 
wife, Maria Christina. 1829, his own niece. In 1830, their daughter 
Isabella was born. It will not now appear surprising that this 
princess was not at the time regarded with much affection. Her 




FERD1NAN1) VII. 



HISTORICAL 



71 



chance of reigning was but slight, although at her birth the law 
allowed women to succeed ; but it was comparatively modern, and 
all Spanish prejudice was, and is, in iavor of the Salic law, 
by which a woman can reign only in default of male heirs. Now 
the king had a brother whose claim was fairly good to the throne ; 
who moreover had sons in plenty to furnish heirs, one of whom, 
Don Carlos, born in 1788, had an absolute right to the throne in 
default of male heirs. 

This is the foundation of the so-called Carlist War, which lasted 
up to the time of Alphonso's arrival upon the throne. Ferdinand 
died shortly after the 
birth of Isabella, but her 
mother, Christina, was 
very popular as regent, 
and in her name the 
contest was carried on. 

During this time the 
state of the country was 
so unsettled that travel- 
ling was almost impos- 
sible. Lawlessness pre- 
vailed, brigands were free 
to attack and carry off 
people they met, and hold 
them for treason. All 
internal improvements 
were at a standstill, and 
high-roads and railways were far behind the general standard of 
Europe. 

All this has greatly changed for the better, and tourists, even 
if indifferent to the welfare of the Spanish race, must be grateful 
to the present state of order which renders travelling as easy and 
comfortable as in any part of Europe, making allowance for certain 
drawbacks made inevitable by long distances. 

The Carlist contest, after many successes and defeats, came to an end 







CHRISTINA. 



72 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIX. 



in 1840. Isabella the Second came herself to the throne, and there 
was ao-ain hope of repose for the country, but she was quite 
unworthy to govern, being incapable of governing herself; a series 
of ministers held the affairs of state. Although some of them were 
of the first order of capacity to deal well with difficult matters, 
there came a time when Isabella was driven from the throne into 
exile * a provisional °-overnment was formed, and every plan was 
suggested for a permanent one ; and finally a new king was elected, 
bv the Cortes, the Duke of Aosta, Amadeo, son of Victor Emman- 
uel. He was invested with the 
royal dignities on the second of 
January, 1871 ; but not later than 
February, 1873, he abdicated, 
having found it impossible to 
govern constitutionally in Spain ; 
his life had been attempted, his 
queen was rudely treated by the 
grand Spanish ladies, and he was 
conspicuously unpopular with the 
people. Thus was shown the 
strange spectacle of the throne 
of Spain, which was once the 
seat of the greatest powe^, and 
also the centre of the splendor 
of the world, abandoned vol- 
untarily by the occupant chosen for it ! 

Then came what was called republican government. Almost any 
one who was willing to try his hand at playing President might 
have a chance. The reaction from this chaotic state of things 
brought about the coming of the present king, a thoroughly edu- 
cated prince, brought up far away from his ignoble mother, in 
France and England. 

His life has been a sad one in one respect. He was first married 
to his cousin Mercedes, the daughter of the Duke of Montpensier, 
a young lady said by all to have been sweet and lovely, and sin- 




ISABELLA II. 



HISTORICAL. 



73 



cerely loved by her husband. She died, and he is now married to 
an Austrian princess, Maria Christina, who is the mother of the 
little girl the Homers saw, and of another princess who was born 
afterwards, in the summer of 1882. 

It has been for those who have lived through the period we have 
just been touching upon, so confusing to follow in brief newspaper 
bulletins the ups and downs of the Spanish peninsula, that some out- 
siders are, like the Homers, but ill-informed upon the subject. As 
they were now in the country, they found it interesting as well as> 
desirable to study up the subject, and the result of their researches. 
is what is here given. 




3$^^aS®$Q«SS^ 



34 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER IX. 



AN INCIDENT. 




J 



UST as the Homers drove up to 
the door of the hotel, through 
the plaza crowded with people, they 
had the luck to see the king and 
all his suite, driving by on their 
return from the bull-fight. The 
bull-fight was late, the king was 
late, worst of all the Homers were 
late, and the table cC hote dinner 
nearly over when they entered the 
dining-room : only a few people 
were lingering over dessert, or sip- 
ping their coffee. The patient, assid- 
uous waiters, however, cheerfully 
prepared to begin all over again. 
They showed them to their seats, 
brought the soup, and resigned themselves to bringing back all the 
courses of the long dinner. 

" It is really too bad we are so late," said Miss Lejeune. " I 
am always sorry for the waiters." 

" It is a pity, but they are used to it," said Mr. Horner ; " besides, 
we could not help it, for the streets were so blocked our driver 
had to go slowly." 

"We did not see the king coming back, after all," said Tommy. 
Just as he was speaking, a waiter who flattered himself he spoke 
^English, said : 

"Look you now here, my master, they come!" 



COAT OF ARMS OF TOLEDO. 



AN INCIDENT. 75 

And sure enough, the whole royal procession swept by, out- 
riders, carriages, and the long train of escorts, in handsome uniforms, 
with white burnous thrown on their shoulders, more gorgeous than their 
simple morning-array. 

"This is doing pretty well, Tommy, to see the king twice 
on your first day in Madrid ! " said his father. 

They went back to their dinner, and devoted themselves to it, for 
they all were hungry, and it was very good. As it went on, Bessie 
and Tommy began to take notice of a party lower down the table, 
who were having, not a regular dinner, but a sort of supper. A 
French nurse was superintending the group, which consisted of a 
boy about Tommy's age, a little girl somewhat younger, and a fat and 
chubby child which brandished arms and legs in the crude manner 
belonging to the age of three years or less. 

They had bowls of milk, and were eating bread and butter and 
orange marmalade, and talking both French and English with their 
mouths full. 

"I say, Nana," said the boy, "you might have taken us to the 
bull-fight. That gentleman said at breakfast that it was the noblest 
sight in the world." 

The nurse replied in French, though she understood his 
English : 

" I cannot take you to bull courses. When your papa comes he 
can do so, if he sees fit." 

" When papa comes!" the boy exclaimed impatiently. "You are 
always saying that. I do not believe he ever will come ! " 

" Of course he will come, Hubert ! " said the little girl, who had 
rather a high voice, but a clear-cut English way of speaking. " We 
have only been two days in Madrid, and he does not know 
yet. 

" But I wanted him to be here when we arrived," he replied. 
" It is all very well for you girls to be mewed up with Nana, but 
I need the companionship of a man." 

Bessie and Tommy glanced at each other with signs of amuse- 
ment, when the English boy made this speech Just then the 



76 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



little child, while Nana was looking the other way, made a clutch 
at a dish of oranges just out of reach. She lost her balance, having, 
in fact, a somewhat insecure seat upon cushions put in a common chair 
to make it high enough. In falling, she grasped the tablecloth, and 
pulled it far enough to overturn the oranges, and to set glasses, finger- 




HRIDGE OF SAINT MARTIN", TOLEDO. 

bowls, knives and forks sliding about. Nana turned at once; but 
Tommy, who was nearest the party, sprang first to the rescue, 
and picked up the baby almost before her head touched the ground. 
Of course she was frightened, however, and screamed. The English 
children tried to steady the sliding tablecloth ; the waiters, who had 




HOSPITAL OF SANTA CRUZ, EARLY l6TH CKNTURY. 



AN INCIDENT. 79 

all retired from the scene, hurried back. The commotion was over 
in a few minutes, and nothing serious had happened ; a wineglass 
had broken in falling to the ground, and a good deal of water was 
spilt ; but that was all. 

The incident served as the beginning of an acquaintance, for not 
only Bessie and Tommy, but Mr. Horner and Miss Lejeune, left 
their dinner to help the nurse to restore order, and to console the 
children who were dismayed. 

Miss Lejeune took a napkin and dried the front of the elder 
girl's dress, while Nana carried off the screaming baby, saying as 
she went, to the other children, rather crossly, " Come up, now, and 
go to bed. This is enough trouble for one day." 

"Go to bed!" said Hubert. "Not I. I shall go out and walk 
in the Puerta del Sol." 

Seeing the children thus left to themselves, Mr. Horner ventured 
to ask them if they were alone. 

"Why, yes, all but Nana!" Hubert explained. "We are on the 
way to Gibraltar, and we left mamma at Bordeaux to go up in the 
Pyrenees. And papa was to meet us here, but we arrived first, 
and there is no letter. So Nana says we must wait, which is 
all very well for girls, but she does not let me go anywhere!" 

"You promised mamma, Hubert," said his sister fretfully, "that 
you would take care of Nana, and me, and baby." 

11 Yes ; but I did not promise to go to bed before dark ! " 

The boy was evidently chafed by too much petticoat government. 
Tommy pitied him, and Mr. Horner was not surprised at his impa- 
tience. 

" I'll tell you what you shall do," said Miss Lejeune. " Fanny, — 
is not your name Fanny ? " she paused to ask. 

The little girl nodded assent. 

" Run and tell Nana that we have invited you both to spend the 
evening with us. You can say that Mr. Horner is an American gen- 
tleman travelling through Spain ; — she will be sure to let you come. 
Then she can put the baby to bed, and rest herself. I do not know 
what we shall do, but there is plenty to see from our windows. 



80 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

Hubert's brow cleared. He put on a manly air and bowed very 
politely, thanking them all for their kindness, and told Fanny to 
take the message. 

"My father, Colonel Vaughan, will thank you when he comes," he 
added. 

Bessie went with her to show her afterwards the way to their 
room, to which they all adjourned. A box of sugar plums which 
Tommy had bought in the morning, served to promote ease and 
hilarity. The children were soon talking together freely in the 
balcony, and Miss Lejeune and Mr. Horner settled themselves at the 
round table to write. 

" I wonder who they are," said Miss Lejeune in a low voice 
when she was quite sure the children would not overhear her. " It 
seems strange that they should be alone with the nurse." 

" The father is very likely stationed at Gibraltar," said Mr. Horner. 
" Hubert called him Colonel Vaughan, you know. It seems rather 
a loose way to look after his children to send them across Spain 
with nobody but a French woman to look after them." 

" There must be some special reason for it," said Miss Lejeune. 
" I wonder they did not take a steamer round to Gibraltar." 

" We shall learn more about it, I dare say," said Mr. Horner ; 
"meanwhile I am glad we can amuse them for this one evening. 
I am sorry we must leave them to-morrow. By the way, Augusta," 
— and here Mr. Horner interrupted himself to look for the guide- 
books and time-tables, — "I have an idea!" 

"What is it?" asked Miss Augusta with a smile. 

" It is that we should go to Toledo now, instead of waiting till 
we come back from Granada. The season is so backward that I have 
no fear of the heat at the South, have you?" 

" Not the least, ' she replied. " It is a very good plan, for we 
shall then have Toledo off our minds when we come back. What 
gave you this good idea ? " 

"It was thinking of the Goths, you see," said Mr. Horner, 
laughing, "when it occurred to me that it would be better to study 
their great capital before going down among the Moors." 



AN INCIDENT. 



81 



" Well, well ! you 
Miss Lejeune. " For 
week that he had 
of the map of Spain, 
knows the difference 
Moors! Evidently 
ing up ! " she added 

11 Not only have I 
returned, "but I have 
one of the gentle- 
He says that Toledo 
ful, and that we 
eral days to it, and 
given me the ad- 
pension to go to 

" Very well," said 
how about trains ? " 

" That is what we 

They busied them- -C 
and after half an hour -^ 
arranged a plan 

VN !VELQ-J£ftlA 




are improving," cried 
a man who said last 
even no knowledge 
to now show that he 
between Goths and 
you have been read- 
with a smile, 
been reading up," he 
been talking with 
men at the bank, 
is perfectly wonder- 
ought to devote sev- 
moreover, he has 
dress of a sort of 
instead of the hotel." 
Miss Lejeune, " and 
she continued, 
must now look up." 
selves on the subject, 
of careful study, had 



ZOCODOVER IN TOLEDO. 



82 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 

"Children," said Miss Augusta, advancing to the window where 
the new acquaintances were "getting on splendidly," as they would 
have expressed it, "we are going to Toledo to-morrow." 

" Toledo !" cried Bessie, "I thought" — 

"We have changed the plan," said her father. 

"Oh!" she exclaimed; "then I must go at once and read about 
the Goths ! " and she jumped into the room. 

" I wish we could go to Toledo," said Hubert mournfully, revert- 
ing to his lonely position which these new companions had made 
him for a while forget. 

" What are your plans ? " asked Mr. Horner kindly ; " perhaps I 
can advise you." 

" We are just waiting here, sir," he replied, " for a letter, or 
some message from papa, telling us how to go on. I dare say he 
has sent it, but Spanish mails are so slow." Then, as if he thought 
Mr. Horner might be wondering why they were stranded at Madrid 
in this manner, he added, while the color came into his cheeks, 
" We are going to papa, because my mother was too ill to keep us 
with her, and she thought, — she thought I was old enough to bring 
them as far as here. But it is too hard, — it is too hard to have 
to wait;" and after a struggle, he broke down, and burst into 
sobs, with his head on his arm, leaning upon the balcony railing 
in the dark. 

"It is hard for you, my dear boy," said Mr. Horner, putting 
his arm kindly round his shoulder, " and I am glad we met you, 
because I am sure we can help you. We will see to-morrow about 
telegraphing to your father, if no letter comes." 



THE VAUGHANS. <J3 



CHAPTER X. 



THE VAUGHANS. 



NEXT morning Miss Lejeune had a little talk with Nana, the- 
French nurse of the Vaughan children, who proved to be an 
intelligent and faithful woman, fit to be entrusted with the sole 
charge of them, on ordinary occasions. She was doing her best, 
but the unexpected failure to meet Colonel Vaughan made her task 
more difficult than had been intended. She was very grateful for 
the interest which Miss Lejeune readily showed, and thankful for 
advice as to her course. 

" You see, madam," she said, " the children were to have stayed 
with their mother during the summer, but madam became so very 
ill the doctor said they must be taken from her. Her disease is 
of the nerves. Poor lady! she is very delicate. We wrote to- 
Gibraltar, and had one letter from the father, and were told to- 
come here. It was not so very difficult by the train. We left my 
lady at Pau." 

" And you have no letter since ? " asked Miss Lejeune. 

"No letter," replied the nurse. "Mr. Hubert goes daily to the 
banker's, but there is nothing, and he is growing very impatient." 

Meanwhile Mr. Horner took both the boys out with him, and as 
soon as it was late enough for the bank to be open, they went 
there ; it was the same place for their own letters and for Hubert's. 

" This is the third time I have been here, and always the same 
answer, ' Nothing for you, sir," said Hubert, as they climbed the- 
stairs; "but you will bring me luck, I hope," he added, smiling. 

Mr. Horner liked the boy. His smile was bright, and the look 
which came from his eyes frank and direct. He was slightly built. 



84 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

and decidedly smaller than Tommy, who was now a stout, strong 
lad, promising soon to be as tall as his brother Philip. 

They went into the banking office, and two or three clerks looked 
up at their entrance, one of whom rose to meet Mr. Horner with 
a bow. 

" Mr. Agrazis has not come in, sir ; can we do anything for 
you ? 

" Yes ; " replied Mr. Horner. " I hardly expect any letters myself 
to-day, but I hope you will find one for this young gentleman." 

The clerk turned to another, who seemed to have the charge of 
customers' letters, and they exchanged several words in Spanish. 

" I know perfectly well," said Hubert to Tommy, " that they are 
saying to each other, ' There is that everlasting boy bothering us 
about his letters.' They are just determined I shall not have any." 

" No, sir ; nothing at all," said the clerk, running through a 
bunch of decrepit old letters which looked as if they had been 
in stock since the flood. He took them out of a pigeon-hole in a 
set like that in a country post-office, marked with the letters of the 
alphabet. 

"Pardon me," said Mr. Horner, "may I look for myself?" He 
took the bunch, then said, " This is not the right bundle ; Vaughan 
begins with V." 

" Faun, Faun," repeated the Spanish clerk ; " ah, no ? " 

They all looked for themselves into pigeon-hole V., and there the 
solitary letter was lying, a blue envelope directed in a clear, bold 
hand, to 

Master Hubert Vaughan 
Care of Messrs. Agrazis and Brown 

Banqueros, Madrid 

Hubert pounced on it, too glad to find it to resent the mistake, 
but Mr. Horner could not help mildly asking the clerk how long it 
had probably been there. 

"Oh! last night, last night only. Very positive," he replied; and 




SANTA MARIA LA BIANCA. 



THE VAUGHANS. 87 

Mr. Horner would not press the matter. Hubert was tearing open 
the letter, and soon had mastered its contents. It was dated at the 
very earliest moment that Colonel Vaughan had news of the plan of 
sending the children to him by the way of Madrid. It had probably 
been lying in the pigeon-hole at the bank as long as the Vaughans 
had been waiting for it ; but this did not much signify, as the 
contents proved. It was brief, and ran thus : 

Dear Hubert : 

You will find this on your arrival at Madrid. I am very sorry that you are 
obliged to come, but will do my best to meet you, or send some one, before the 
end of the month. You will stay, of course, at the Hotel de la Paix, where I am 
perfectly well known. Be a good boy and mind Nana. 

Your Affectionate Father, 

James Vaughan. 

Mr. Horner and Tommy stood waiting while Hubert read his 
letter, which to be sure did not take long. Mr. Horner saw at a 
glance that he was disappointed and hurt. He hesitated, began to 
put the letter in his pocket, squeezing his lips tightly together; 
then changing his mind, handed it up to Mr. Horner, with a 
helpless movement, as if he surrendered himself, in that movement, 
to the guardianship of his new friend. 

" The end of the month ! " he said in a low voice, as if he 
meant the end of the world. It was now only the sixteenth. 

Tommy took the liberty of looking over his father's shoulder. 
He thought it was an unkind letter ; and, to tell the truth, Mr. 
Horner formed no glowing impression of Colonel Vaughan from 
Teading it ; but it was too early to judge his character. He handed 
it back, saying briefly : 

" Come along, boys ; we will go and see what Nana says. Good 
•morning, gentlemen. Tommy, your umbrella ! " And they all went 
down into St. Geronimo street, through which they must pass to 
their hotel. The street looked changed, to them, though it was as 
lively as ever, thronged with well-dressed men, women with mantillas, 
-dogs, donkey-carts, carriages, hand-organs ; the shop windows were 



88 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



as gay, and the gaudy fan which Bessie longed for was flaunting 
just as brightly as when they had stopped to look at it the day 
before, but Madrid had become hateful to Hubert, and Tommy was 
very angry with the unknown father of his new friend, who 

could write such a letter as that. 

''The end of the month," re- 
peated Mr. Horner ; then he asked 
abruptly, " Hubert, should you like 
to go with us to Toledo ? " 

" To Toledo ! Could you take 
me ? O, Mr. Horner ! " 

" Papa ! " exclaimed Tommy, " oh,, 
do let him go ! " 

" Let us see what Nana thinks," 

said Mr. Horner, whereat the two 

boys started for the hotel on 

the full run across the crowded 

plaza, finding their way with great 

skill between the legs of the 

horses. Just at the door, they all came luckily upon Miss Lejeune and 

Bessie, who were setting forth by themselves for a little stroll. 

" Where is Nana ? Do you know ? " 

" She is up there at the balcony of the salon," said Bessie,, 
pointing with her parasol. " She wanted Fanny to stay and help 
take care of the baby." 

The matter was arranged sooner and more simply than Mr. 
Horner had expected ; for it seemed that the head waiter of the 
Hotel de la Paix was the husband of Nana's sister, so that Nana 
was perfectly at home in the hotel, where she had once or twice 
before accompanied her mistress, Mrs. Vaughan. 

She thought it perfectly proper for Mr. Horner to take Hubert 
and Fanny, who was of course included in the scheme, to Toledo 
for a few days, while she stayed in the hotel at Madrid looking 
after the baby. When she heard of the letter from Colonel 
Vaughan, she shook her head and said : 




EMPTY WINE JARS. 



rrs 



SYi III I tl/ 







THE VAUGHANS. 91 

M I thought as much. Very likely it will be the end of another 
month. He is in no hurry, madam," she added, turning to Miss 
Lejeune with a knowing nod, but a smile of sadness, " to take 
charge of the children." 

But the children did not hear this. They had scampered off to 
get ready for Toledo. Mr. Horner called after them : 

14 Put up things enough for three days, Hubert ! " 

"Mon Dicu! mon Dieu!" cried Nana, catching up the baby and 
running after them ; " with all the linge at the blanchisseuse, shall 
there be even a mouchoir between them ! " 

As the blanchisseuse was the very sister who had married the 
head waiter, this matter was arranged without delay. 

" Well ! " said Miss Lejeune to Mr. Horner, when they were left 
alone in the little balcony. 

"Well!" returned Mr. Horner, "this is a pretty high-handed 
proceeding ! " 

" How exactly like you," said Miss Lejeune, " to take these wandering 
children wholly upon trust, and carry them off with you ! " 

" As for that, I am not afraid the children will pick our pockets, 
or put poison in the soup ; but if the stern parent should change 
his mind and come after them " — 

" And find the birds flown," said Miss Lejeune, continuing his 
thought, "it might be a little awkward. But Nana would be equal 
•to the occasion. Besides, he will not come. What a letter ! " 

"I am most anxious about Nana; what if she neglects the baby 
in our absence ? " said Mr. Horner. 

" My dear, we are not responsible for that baby. Suppose we 
had never met them, it would be just the same. " 

"In taking the children, we assume the burden of the whole 
family, I believe," said Mr. Horner, shaking his head. While they 
were talking, they had returned to their apartment. Mr, Horner 
was walking up and down the room, with his hands in his pockets. 
He went on to say : 

" It is a risk, but I think it will turn out well. I shall set 
Hubert to writing to his father at once, before we leave for Toledo, 



92 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



and I shall add a postscript, to make it all right with Colonel 
Vaughan. So now, we must make all ready for the start this after- 
noon. Have you much to do ? " 

"No," replied Miss Lejuene ; "as we only take the little things, 
and leave the trunks here. But you had better isend Bessie to me 
if you see her." 

He left the room. When Miss Lejeune was alune, she exclaimed 
aloud, "Was there ever" — finishing her thought inwardly thus: 
"a man so enlarged and improved as Philip Horner, by marriage 
and the intercourse with intelligent women ! Twenty years ago, he 
would not have taken so much trouble for his own relations, and 
here he is going out of his way to give pleasure to some little 
stray children. And he born in Boston ! " 




CALLE ISABEL, 16. 



CHAPTER XL 




T 



BRIDGE OF ALCANTARA. 



CALLE ISABEL, l6. 

'HUS Nana was left with the baby, and 
the young Vaughans, amazed and delighted, 
joined the Homers for Toledo. Little Fanny 
was shy, and wanted at first to be left with 
Nana. Less notice had been taken of her than 
of her brother, and she had not the same 
adaptability that he possessed ; still it seemed a 
pity to leave her behind, and though Bessie did not care much 
about the child yet, she exerted herself to urge her going. 

They reached Toledo after dark, and found at the station an 
omnibus with mules, like the one at Burgos, only this time the 
drive to the town was longer, and the mules were even more ani- 
mated. There were eight of them, and they whirled along at a mad 
pace, the driver cracking his whip, and the postilion running at 
the side, or jumping up on the front animal, who was a horse, by 
the way, and not a mule. 

Toledo is built on a high rock, almost perpendicular on all sides 
but one. It is seen from a great distance above the plain, with 
sombre stone buildings rising in terraces one above the other. The 
Tagus winds its way beneath the walls in a sort of horseshoe, 
through a deep bed with steep, canon-like sides. They crossed it 
by the bridge of Alcantara — or Al Kantarah, which means a bridge 
in Arabic — passing under arches and through towers at either end, 
and then they began slowly winding up through the town. It had 
been light enough to see the river and the bridge, but darkness came 
on soon, and they could not tell where they were. The streets 
were so narrow that they were close to the windows of shops 



94 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 

which seemed brilliant in the dimly-lighted streets, and could see 
all sorts of Spanish things, tinsel church ornaments, bright silk or 
cotton handkerchiefs, and brass work. The omnibus was feebly- 
lighted by a dim oil lamp, but Bessie managed to make out that 
the only person besides themselves in it, who sat in the corner by 
the door, was a matador in his bull-fight dress. He had his little 
spadas, or swords, with him, under the seat. 

"This is the best fun of anything yet in Spain!" cried Tommy 




DONKEYS CARRYING WATER JARS. 



joyously, between the bumps of the swaying vehicle, and Hubert, 
who had come direct from Bayonne to Madrid in the train without 
stopping, fully agreed with him. 

They stopped before a large wooden door, which reminded them 



CALLE ISABEL, 16. 



95 



of an Eastern Bab, or gate. An unseen cord pulled it open, and 
it swung inward, showing by the light of a candle, in a small niche 
in a thick wall, a broad flight of stairs, built, as far as they could 




LOOKING BACK ACROSS THE BRIDGE. 

make out, on one side of an open court, or patio. They groped 
their way up two sets of stairs, and there were met by two elderly 
Spanish senoras with hospitable manners, like any two ladies await- 
ing to receive their guests. The Homers had been prepared for 
this, and had got together their best Spanish ; and it now came 
out, what they had not before thought of, that Hubert, who had 
spent most of his life in Gibraltar, could manage the language 
pretty well. 



96 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

These sweet ladies made them welcome, and led them by a cor- 
ridor running round the patio, to a huge room, with small windows, 
heavy beams running across the ceiling, and in one corner an 
ancient, closed-up door of green corroded iron, through which Bessie 
fancied that Roderick the Goth might step into the room at any 
moment. There were two little iron beds against the wall, and 
there was room in the great chamber for half a dozen more. The 
two girls, with Miss Lejeune, were put in possession, while the 
senoras carried of the others. Philip and his father were given a 
room whose one window opened upon the corridor, and Hubert's 
room was a little dark place leading from this up three steps, with 
a big flowered chintz curtain for a door or portiere. 

While one senora bustled about making them comfortable, the 
other disappeared to superintend their supper. The ladies were soon 
restored by fresh water, which was brought in hospitable profusion, 
and while Miss Lejeune rested on the bed, the girls leaned upon 
the window and looked down into the patio. It was a square win- 
dow, with folding sashes, and heavy shutters, all painted a faded 
green. Below, through the darkness, they could make out a paved 
square court with oleander- trees in green boxes, and in mysterious 
corners stood huge jars which might have contained a forty-thief 
apiece. A bell rang which they recognized by the sound, as the 
door-bell their driver had rung when they came ; and then a won- 
derful thing happened. The senora, who had been bringing them 
water and towels, appeared at a window of the corridor, just oppo- 
site the one where the children were standing, and pulled at a 
cord. They could not see round the corner down below, but thev 
knew that she must have opened the front door* by this process, 
from the conversation which ensued in Spanish. Of course they 
could not understand it, but they guessed, and probably were 
nearly right, that it was something like this : 

The senora said, "Well! who's there?" 

" It is Pepe, senora. The butterman has no butter." 

" What ! Then you must run to the milkman." 

" I have done so, and he has none." 



■^Zrr 






. 



■i#k 



<v 



h, 






^> 



f 










*r: 



:& 



i 




PUERTA DEL SOL, TOLEDO. 



CALLE ISABEL, 16. 99' 

" Fetch me, then, some fresh oil, for we have but little; but be 
4uick, for the strangers are already impatient for their supper." 

The invisible messenger said no more. As the senora loosened 
the rope, the great door swung to with a bang. 

Soon the bell rang again, and the same process took place. 
This time there was a scuffling below, and the shadowy form of 
Pepe was to be seen hurrying up the stairs which led from the 
patio below, in full view of the children's post of observation. 

Over their heads the stars were shining brightly against the 
clear evening sky ; pointed dormer windows in the tiled roof which 
went around the four sides of the patio, stood out sharply; every 
now and then a little bird, which speaks often at night in Spain r 
made its plaintive note close at hand. It was wonderfully still 
and strange. 

Still they were not sorry to be summoned to supper, which was 
served to them alone, at a round table lighted by a swinging lamp. 
The kind ladies waited on them, and watched to see if they liked the 
good chicken and fried eggs which they provided. The Horners 
praised everything, to the graceful brown jug that held the water. 
Little Fanny, too tired and sleepy to eat much, was an object of 
great interest to the hostesses, and one of them offered to put her 
to bed before the rest had finished their apricots ; but Miss 
Lejeune would not allow this. 

She was afraid Fanny might be frightened in the great room with 
the green iron door; but she was a passive little traveller, and in 
fact fell asleep as soon as her head was on the pillow. 

" I hope Roderick the Goth will not come in and terrify her," 
said Miss Lejeune, as she resumed her seat at the table, and 
began to sip the black coffee, which, late as it was, she had not 
feared to accept. 

"Who is Roderick the Goth? 1 ' demanded Hubert;, "you keep 
referring to him." 

" He was the last of the Goths, so called," said Miss Lejeune, 
"but we use his name because he was a famous one, and we have 
the Goths upon our minds, because during their rule in Spain, 



100 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

Toledo was their chief place ; and while we are here, we expect to 
see the traces of their buildings and ways of doing things." 

" I do not know anything about history," said Hubert with a 
tone partly scornful and partly meek, if such a combination can be 
possible. 

" Well, you see, you are in Spain because you have to be, " 
said Tommy; "but as we are here for fun, we want to get all the 
fun we can out of a country, by knowing all we can about it." 

" Bravo, Tommy ! " exclaimed his father ; " these are the true 
Horner sentiments." 

" Well, then, you will have to tell me all you know," said 
Hubert, " for I am rather late to begin." 

"Now, I will tell you very briefly,'' said Bessie, "the way I 
used to tell Phil, if you will only listen." 

" I think, Bessie, your general glimpse of the Goths had better 
be postponed," said Mr. Horner, "for it is long after ten o'clock, 
and we ought all to go to bed." 

"All right," said Hubert, who was struggling with a great yawn, 
"but I will listen to-morrow, Bessie." 

The early chroniclers of Toledo say that the city was founded at 
least as far back as the creation of the world ; without trying to 
verify their theories, it is quite probable that the Romans found 
something there when they established themselves as early as the 
beginning of the third century, a. d. At all events, it was to the 
Romans an important centre. The first council of the Church of 
Spain was held at Toledo, 400 a. d. Some time later, upon the 
irruption of the barbarians of the North, which swept all over the 
peninsula, it became the capital of Gothic Spain, and was very 
prosperous and important. In Wamba's reign, the glory of Toledo 
reached its climax ; but from that time the Gothic name began to 
decline through its own corruption and internal quarrels, all of 
which were preparing for the downfall of the monarchy. Secret 
intelligence was given to the Moors over in Africa, that there was 
a chance for successful invasion, and they landed at Gibraltar in 
,great numbers. 



CALLE ISABEL, 16. 



101 



Roderick, with all his Goths, came out to meet them, and a great 
battle was fought, not far from Cadiz, on the banks of the Guade- 
lete. Roderick advanced towards the enemy, dressed in gold and 
purple, standing in his ivory chariot, with a wonderful headdress, 
and two mules splendidly accoutred. These signs of royalty m^de 
him an easy mark, and he was cut down by the weapon of the 
Turk. The head of the king was cut off and forwarded to the 
court of Damascus. Thus fell the monarchy of the Goths, and thus 
began the domination of the Moor, whose rule in Spain lasted 
eight hundred years. They, too, at first, made Toledo their chief 
place until Cordova became their court and capital. 



^ 




102 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XII. 



TOLEDO. 



DURING all the centuries, the great races who have appealed 
in Spain, lived their life, and vanished, have had some foot- 
hold in Toledo. They have all left their traces there, which are 
yet to be seen, although the city has now become a place of little 
importance other than its many monuments of the past. Old 
Roman archways, the traces of the palace of the Gothic kings, 
beautiful specimens of Moorish mosques and of Jewish synagogues, 
are still visible ; for when Toledo was first taken by the Moors it 
was filled with Hebrews, who helped the Moors because they had 
been persecuted by their previous rulers, the Goths. The Cathedral, 
and the Church of San Juan de los Reyes, are monuments of the 
Spanish Christians, and the present century is represented by the 
destruction wrought by French soldiers in 1810. 

The streets are irregular, ill-paved, and steep and winding ; but. 
this intricacy was intentional, for it made them easy to defend when, 
attacked, and kept them cool in summer. The houses are for the 
most part Moorish, built about patios, or courts, over which awnings 
are drawn in summer. 

In the heart of the city towers the Cathedral, around which cluster 
many churches and convents, now silent and deserted. The silence 
of the place strikes the ear at once, where no carriages, and but sel- 
dom a footfall, disturb the echoes of the narrow streets. 

The Homers passed three delightful days there, going back to 
Madrid on the evening of the third. The hospitable sisters, who kept 
the house, would fain have them stay a month, and they were so 
enchanted with their quarters, nothing would have pleased them. 
better. 




PROCESSION OF MONKS. 



TOLEDO. 106 

w If Mary were only here!" was Miss Lejeune's exclamation; 
" there is sketching enough for weeks ! " 

When the senoras learned just how long they could stay, they 
planned for them the arrangement of their time, so that they should 
see as many as possible of the interesting places, and without doing 
too much at a time, so as to be tired, and lose the impression. 

Their first excursion was to walk round the picturesque old city, 
going down to the Puerta del Sol, not like that of Madrid, changed 
to mean a broad square, but really a Moorish gate of granite- 
horseshoe arches ; and thence along an old road to another gate, 
where there are outworks built by Wamba the Goth, the new 
Puerta visagra being the work of Philip the Second. Here, there 
is an image of St. Eugenio, Bishop of Toledo, who came from 
France. Going back there he was murdered at St. Denis, and his 
body remained there until another French bishop discovered it and 
brought back the right arm to Spain. Philip the Second obtained 
the rest from Charles the Ninth, and thus all the parts of the 
sacred remains were reunited at Toledo, after a thousand years of 
separation, according to the explanation of the guide who went with 
them to point out the items of interest. It seemed as if there 
was something to see at every step, and after two or three hours, 
their heads were turning with the difficulty of following his Spanish 
explanation. Goths and Moors were growing hopelessly mixed in- 
their minds. The cobblestone pavements tired their feet, and they 
were hungry, for this was an early start after coffee and before 
almuerzo. So they insisted upon going back to the Calle St. Isabel,, 
No. 16, to the dismay of the worthy man, who had but just got 
going on his tour of inspection. They promised to start again after 
a rest, in the afternoon, and came back after admiring the remains^ 
of the Palace Castle, built by Wamba in 674, and the bridge of 
San Martin, which there completes the picture. This bridge is quite 
at the opposite curve of the horseshoe made by the Tagus, from the 
one over which they had entered the city. 

In the afternoon, to please the guide, they came back to this 
point, to inspect the remains of the Franciscan convent, called San 



106 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

Juan de los Reyes — of the Kings — because it was dedicated by 
Ferdinand and Isabella to their particular saint, John, being erected 
by them in 1476, to commemorate a victory over the king of Por- 
tugal. The detail of this church is very elaborate, and it is a 
specimen of the richest Gothic of the Moorish period, although the 
severest critics condemn the taste of the ornaments, such as the 
angels with coats of arms, that crowd the walls. On the outside, 
in one part of the wall, still hang the rusty chains with which 
Christians were confined by the Moors, won back at the conquest 
of Grenada. It is said that Ferdinand and Isabella intended to be 
buried here, but they changed their idea, and their tombs are in the 
Cathedral at Grenada. 

Bessie and Miss Lejeune liked best the old cloister of this 
church ; though it is falling down through neglect and bad usage, 
it is the finest portion of the whole work, covered with rich 
sculptures of foliage, and animals and saints, in niches. It was 
much damaged by French soldiers during the early part of this 
century, and is now used in part as a picture gallery. The 
pictures are sad and gloomy, like those in most inferior Spanish 
collections ; and there are no specimens of the best. The court- 
yard of the cloister was overgrown with tall rose-trees, oleander 
and other shrubs, whose long neglected sprays twisted about the 
broken carvings. 

During their absence, the good landladies had been engaged in 
a very serious work, which had occupied their whole day. The 
Homers found them busily engaged upon it when they came in to 
almuerzo, but by dinner time all traces of it were removed, and 
the thing was complete. This was patching and mending the huge 
awning of the patio, large enough to stretch all over it, across 
from one side of the roof to another, each way. Early in the 
morning it was lowered into the court, and there spread out on 
the flat stone pavement, an odd sight, for the original brownish 
color was already varied by patches of white, where it had been 
strengthened from time to time, so that it looked like an immense 
patchwork quilt of varied shades of yellow, white, and brown. 




THE CATHEDRAL OF TOLEDO. 



TOLEDO. 109 

When Bessie in the morning saw the excellent ladies with their 
maid about to set to work, she had a great longing to stay 
at home and help ; but reflecting that she had not come all 
the way to Toledo to mend patchwork, she gave it up. In the 
evening, the stones of the patio were uncovered, and shining with 
cleanliness. The great pots containing the oleanders were set back 
in the middle, but the water-jars remained mysterious in their 
corner. Overhead, the yellow awning, drawn back for air and light, 
hung in folds close on one side of the building. It was worked 
with ropes and pulleys, and could be drawn all or partly across the 
patio. In fact, the whole establishment was worked with ropes 
like a sailing-vessel, and the brave ser*?ra opened the Bab 
and hailed the visitors below, like a captain on her quarter 
deck. 

The third and last day was almost wholly devoted to the 
Cathedral, the real glory of Toledo, not only on account of its 
religious and historical associations, but from its intrinsic beauty 
as an example of the pure ingenious Gothic of the thirteenth cen- 
tury. 

The Cathedral is said to have occupied its present site before 
the capture of the city by the Moors. They converted it into a 
mosque, and in course of time enlarged and adorned it greatly. 
At the capitulation of Alonzo the Sixth, in 1085, it was agreed that 
the Moors should still retain it ' x but this agreement was respected 
for a few months only, when the Christians took it forcibly from 
them and had it consecrated as their Cathedral. But of that 
old building nothing remains. The first stone of the new Cathe- 
dral was laid with great ceremony by King Ferdinand the Third, on 
the fourteenth of August, 1227, and from that time to the end of 
the seventeenth century, additions and alterations have been con- 
stantly in hand. It was the same king who laid the first stone 
at Burgos in 122 1. 

The plan of the Cathedral is on an enormous scale, those of 
Milan and Seville being the only larger churches in Europe. 
There is no good general view to be had of it, though the towers 



IIQ A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

and dome are very beautiful. The first glimpse of the interior is 
very impressive ; rich in sculpture, but very simple in its lines. 
The chapels are crowded with sculpture and ornament, and contain 
often, like those at Burgos, the tombs of important persons. One 
of these, the chapel of Santiago, has in the centre a grand high 
tomb, with life-size kneeling figures, one at each angle, and angels 
holding coats of arms, in panels on the sides. On the tomb repose 
the effigies of the Constable Don Alvaro de Luna and his wife 
Dona Juana, who died in the middle of the fifteenth century. Don 
Alvaro was the prime minister and favorite of John the Second, of 
Castile. He was something like Cardinal Wolsey, and like him, fell 
from the favor of his sovereign. 

There are also many beautiful inns and brass screens as elsewhere 
throughout the Spanish churches, and retablos, or large pictures 
of great height, rising from floor to roof, filled with scenes from 
the life of the Saviour, richly painted and gilded, with canopies 
and niches covered with gold. The effect is one of extreme rich- 
ness and quietness combined. The large windows are mostly filled 
with stained glass, giving the wonderful charm of contrasted lights 
and shades, added to that of the colored rays falling through the 
windows. The walls, which originally were colored, have been 
sacrificed throughout to the unhappy passion for whitewash, which 
disfigures everything in Spain. 

Now the Homers had to bid farewell to Toledo. Few cities 
can compete with it in interest, for the grandeur of its position, 
and the endless picturesqueness of every corner. It gathers up in 
a small space the whole strange history of Spain so vividly, that 
any one who could visit its old nooks and corners might work out 
for himself the whole of it. For here Romans, Goths, Saracens, 
and Christians, have in turn held sway, and left their mark. 

The Homers found time on the way to the station to stop at 
a shop where the beautiful Toledo work is made; steel, inlaid with 
gold and copper in lovely arabesque designs. Thev bought a few 
" travel presents '"' in the way of daggers mounted as shawl-pins. 



VisiGv/i US. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



VISIGOTHS. 



SPAIN is first known in history about the sixth century before 
Christ, as then inhabited by "Iberi" and Kelts. It is more 
than probable that both of these races followed previous ones, the 
existence of which are traced in the flint stone and bronze instru- 




MAP. 



ments like those hidden elsewhere in Europe ; these were probably 
also followed by races who built the dolmens and menhirs which are 
found all along from Algeria to the Orkneys. These Iberi and 



112 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

Kelts scattered themselves over the peninsula, constancy shifting 
their ground, perhaps on account of peUy wars among themselves, or 
for now unknown reasons. Both races have left dear traces on 
the maps of ancient Spain. 

From its geographical position, the peninsula was a natural halt- 
ing-place in ancient times for ail the masters of the Mediterranean 
as they pushed westward. Thus there came successively colonies of 
Egyptians, Phcenecians and Greeks ; and there Carthagenians and 
Romans met to dispute the supremacy of the civilized world. The 
Romans occupied Spain for a long period, during which it became 
nearly as Latinized as Italy ; then the Roman Empire fell, and 
successive waves of barbarian destroyers swept across the land, 
Sueves, Vandals, Visigoths, wrecking a civilization they could not 
understand. The last of these races, the Visigoths, strove hard to 
found an empire from 450 to 710, which, upheld by the real power 
which in those times kept society together, the Churcn, lasted, 
growing, however, weaker and weaker, till it fell before the attack 
of the Mohammedan Arabs. 

These Goths retained the provinces, with their local capitals left 
from the dominion of the Romans. Their kingdom, in its greatest 
time, extended far beyond the present limits of Spain, reaching up 
into France. Seville was at first the royal residence of the Goths, 
acknowledged not only as the capital of the whole province, but as 
the metropolis of the kingdom. This honor, however, was in time 
transferred to Toledo. 

The Spanish Goths were by no means the wild, uncivilized 
people which the expression "Goths and Vandals'' conveys. The 
old Roman organization of the towns was preserved by tradition 
throughout the whole of the Visigothic times , and the charters, or 
fueros, granted to towns and cities by the kings, founded on 
recollections of former institutions, are even now in force, and fully 
exacted. 

The government was, in appearance, an absolute monarchy ; yet 
the power of the chief was greatly controlled by the influence of 
the prelates. The Pope was acknowledged as supreme head of the 



VISIGOTHS. 



115 



Church, but the independence o£ the Spanish bishops was great, 
and they managed affairs pretty much their own way, in things 
temporal as well as spiritual, through the national ecclesiastical 
councils. 

The Arian heresy, differing from the true orthodox of the 




ALCAZAR IN TOLEDO. 

Church, continued about one hundred years in Spain ; the disputes- 
arising from differences of faith, made much trouble, as in the 
following case : 

Ermenigild, a certain royal prince, was allowed to share the 

royal dignity with his father, after his marriage with the princess 

Ingunda, who was orthodox. But Gosnilda, the second wife of: 



H16 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

the old king, and therefore stepmother to the prince, was a 
•professor of the Arian sect. The two queens could not agree; the 
-double connection between stepmother and daughter-in-law was too 
much for them, added to a difference in religion ; the one was 
resolved that her step-daughter should embrace the religion of the 
•Goths, the other that no force on earth should induce her to do 
•so. Gosnilda had violent passions. She so far forgot, it is said, 
all sense of dignity, as to punish the obstinacy of Ingunda with 
blows. She seized her one day, says St. Gregory of Tours, by 
the hair of her head, threw her down, and trampled on her, and 
afterwards forcibly thrust her into the water to be baptized by an 
Arian priest. The two husbands finding that their palace was 
scandalized, agreed to have separate courts ; while the elder 
remained at Toledo, the younger established his at Seville. 

Ermenigild soon abjured Arianism, converted by his wife, and 
•embraced the Catholic religion. Warfare followed between father 
and son, and it ended in an order for the execution of the latter, 
who had already been thrown into prison; "the ministers of venge- 
ance hastened to the dungeon, and with a hatchet, cleft the head 
of the prince of the Goths." 

This was one of the tales with which Bessie regaled Hubert and 
Tommy, true to her agreement of throwing light on Spanish history 
at not too great a cost to her listeners. She had her own method 
of extracting plums from books of information about the places or 
.people in whom she was interested. She had no strong prejudice 
in favor of facts, and loved a legend better than a statistical state- 
ment. While her dates and statistics were fairly reliable for accuracy, 
she was quite as likely to introduce a giant or a ghost, as a king 
and warrior into her narrative, but she had a good memory, and 
she gave a certain air of genuineness to her account which justi- 
fied her fondness for romance. 

" It is like Mary's water-colors, papa," she pleaded in her own 
-defence, when he once criticised her method of statement ; " I must 
generalize to give a broad effect. Besides, the boys would not 
ilisten if I .gave them all the arguments for and against the facts." 



VISIGOTHS. 



117 



The story which led her father to demur, was the popular one 
refuted by serious historians, about the wand of Wamba ; Bessie 
loved to believe it. The Gothic crown was offered to him by the 
electors, but he was little inclined to accept the dignity. He was 
an excellent man, who had already filled honorable posts. Prayers 
and tears were vainly employed to move him. At length, one of 
the dukes of the palace placed a 
dagger at his breast, and bade 
him choose between the sepulchre 
and a throne. Such a choice was 
simple, and Wamba reigned. 

Such are the facts allowed by 
historians ; but the legend is that 




KING WAMBA. 



when St. Leo, in compliance with 
the earnest wishes of the Goths, 
prayed that they might be divine- 
ly directed in the choice they 
were about to make, he was ad- 
monished that they must seek a 
laborer named Wamba, whom 
they must crown. The soldiers 
arriving at his farm found him at the plough, on the confines of 
Portugal, and gave him the news of his appointment. Thinking it 
only a joke, he said, " Yes, I shall become king about the time 
when my staff puts forth leaves again." To the astonishment of 
all present, the dry wood of the pole he held in his hand was 
clothed immediately with verdure. Of course they took him away 
by force to Toledo, and there crowned him. 

Wamba made an excellent king. He found the country at war, 
but soon reduced its enemies. He was obliged to go as far as 
Nismes, in the south of France, to suppress an ambitious Greek 
named Paul, who had made himself crowned there. 

Hubert pricked up his ears at this, for he had seen the Roman 
amphitheatre at Nismes, that very summer, and he was pleased to 
be able to tell them about it. It is an immense building, like the 



118 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

coliseum at Rome, constructed for the same purposes — of combats 
of animals or men. Many historical phases have swept over the 
majestic arena, often stained with the blood of human victims. The 
crescent floated over its walls during the rule of the Spanish Goths, 
before Charles Martel drove them out in 737. 

In the course of time, the place became neglected, and a miserable 
population which we should call squatters, were allowed to live there. 
The walls are smoked by the fires they used to cook by. Until the 
beginning of this century, this superb cirque was surrounded by 
wretched little houses, and the inside was filled with them ; but since 
then thev have been all removed away, and now the amphitheatre, 
like most of the monuments of France, is not only cleared of rub- 
bish, but restored in such a manner that the original intention of 
every part can be thoroughly understood. 

Hubert was proud to tell his friends about something they had 
not seen ; and Mr Horner was pleased to note the powers of obser- 
vation of the boy, who had picked up these facts from the guide who 
accompanied them about the amphitheatre. Hubert could well imagine 
just the scene when Wamba came and took possession of the place. 
By royal command, Paul, the conspiring Greek, and the other leading 
rebels, were dragged by the hair of the head from the vaults of the 
amphitheatre, and consigned to prison. The merciful monarch satisfied 
himself with condemning them to wear shaven crowns, and to be 
shut up within the walls of Toledo. 

" Let us enact the scene," said Bessie. " You and I, Fanny, will 
be leading rebels on account of our long hair, and the boys can be 
the myrmidons of Wamba, and drag us about." 

This brief entertainment took place somewhat appropriately in the 
room with the green iron door, by which Bessie thought that Roderic 
the Goth left for good, on the last day of their short stay in 
Toledo. They had bought their Toledo blades, and taken one last 
stroll through the irregular streets. After a hearty meal provided 
by the kind senoras, they were waiting for their guide to carry 
them to the station for railway omnibuses. He came, and they 
walked to the square, where they had time for some delicious 



VISIGOTHS. 



119 



sherbet in a kind of restaurant, then climbed into a long omnibus 
which rapidly filled with Spaniards who had been passing the day 
at Toledo, and were going home by the train ; women in mantillas, 
others with bright handkerchiefs tied about their heads, all merrily 
chatting together, as a similar crowd might in an American barge. 
The Homers arrived at the hotel in Madrid to find Nana and 
the baby all right, and a letter from Colonel Vaughan. 




OMNIBUS TO THE STATION. 



120 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



COMBINATION. 



COLONEL VAUGHAN'S letter was addressed to Mr. Horner, 
with an enclosure for Hubert. He " availed himself gladly," 
he said, of the proposal contained in Mr. Horner's postscript sent 
in Hubert's last letter, that his family should continue under the 
protection of Mr. Horner as far as Gibraltar. 

" Well, that is cool ! " said Miss Lejeune, when Mr. Horner 
handed her the letter. 

" Rather brief," said Mr. Horner, " but he had a right to put that 
construction on my offer. In fact, I expected it." 

" What did you say ? " she asked. 

"I merely said that I was going finally to Gibraltar; and that 
although not yet decided as to my route, or how much time it 
would take, I should be glad to be a friend to his children, in 
whom we had begun to take an interest, and that, therefore, I 
hoped he would let me know how I could be of service." 

" That was rather vague," said Miss Lejeune. " What really was 
your idea?" 

" My idea was rather vague," replied Mr. Horner. " I wanted to 
take them to Toledo ; and I thought that would give time for a 
letter from the father, and he might find it easier to give his direc- 
tions to me than to a mere boy. Besides " — 

4< Besides," interrupted Miss Lejeune, "you thought it might come 
to this." 

"Do you much object?" asked Mr. Horner rather meekly. 

" Not at all ! " replied Miss Augusta. " I think the addition of the 
children is excellent for both Tommy and Bessie. It was a risk, 



COMBINATION. 



121 



because we might not have liked them ; but there is good stuff in: 
Hubert, and Fanny is a harmless little thing. But " — she stopped' 
and laughed. 

" But," said Mr. Horner, continuing her thought, " it is comic that 
we have burdened ourselves with a nurse and child that we know- 
nothing about ! " 

" And when," added Miss Lejeune, " we reduced our own party- 
because 'four is enough for travelling in Spain.'" 

Mr. Horner assumed a grave expression, although the corners of 
his mouth had a smiling tendency. 

"What will mamma say?" he sighed. 

" She will worry," returned Miss Augusta promptly. "I think 
it will be well not to dwell on 
the details of the plan until we 
are fairly out of the scrape." 

" We shall come out of it 
well enough ! " said Mr. Horner. 
" I rely on Nana's intelli- 
gence." 

" Of course," said Miss Le- 
jeune cheerfully ; " all the same, 
I must say Colonel Vaughan 
takes his family remarkably 
easy." 

" I rather long to see Colonel 
Vaughan," remarked Mr. Hor- 
ner. 

Great was the joy of the younger portion of the Combination,, 
when the news was announced that they were all to travel together 
Nana was full of gratitude. She relieved one serious doubt of Mr. 
Horner's, namely, the money question. She was provided with an; 
ample letter of credit, and was perfectly sure Colonel Vaughan 
would not care how much they spent. 

"Nor how long we stay away," she grumbled in a tone not 
altogether meant for herself alone. 




ROMAN TOMB. 



122 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 

Mr. Horner fancied that Nana's heart was full of bitterness 
toward her master ; but he thought it far the best course not to 
press the subject with her. Time would show, little by little, the 
true relations of the Vaughans, and meanwhile they were not to be 
made the subject of idle curiosity. 

Children accept all the events of life without surprise Even 
Bessie, who was the eldest, thought it a very natural and delightful 
plan to invite the Vaughans. Tommy and Hubert got on very 
well together, although each had begun by half despising the kind 
of boy the other was, or seemed to be. 

Miss Augusta regarded the position with some amusement. She 
soon began to take great comfort in Nana, who, with ready tact, at 
once devoted herself to her new lady, and to fulfil the little tasks ' 
belonging to a maid. Miss Lejeune always travelled without one, 
but she loved to be waited upon, and she gladly relegated the whole 
subject of boots, gloves, ruffles, etc., to Nana, who now looked after 
her wardrobe and Bessie's, as well as that of Fanny Vaughan. 

In fact, the plan worked so well that Miss Augusta after a day 
•or two was heard to exclaim to Bessie : 

"My dear, I don't know how we ever got on without them!" 

But in the beginning it was a little hard for Mr. Horner, whose 
burden, the luggage, was now nearly doubled. Nana did what she 
could, but the burden must come chiefly upon one person, who must 
know how many pieces there are, and exactly where they are. 
Mr. Horner bore up manfully, conscious that he was the author of 
the mischief, if mischief there were. 

They were now to confront another night journey, and Miss 
Lejeune's prophetic mind was in gloom at the thought of eight in 
the carriage, and one of them a baby! "Too ridiculous!" 

But when they went up to the place for buying the tickets, 
Hubert said to Mr. Horner : 

" Nana always travels second-class." 

"What, and you too?" 

" Yes ; papa prefers it," said Hubert. 

Mr. Horner was puzzled. He had taken first-class tickets to 



— I 9 >' j4 




^S\Q^ 



• >'S» 



PUERTA DE LA INCLUSA. 



COMBINATION. 125 

Toledo, by which Hubert had found out that it was the habit of the 
Homers to travel thus. 

It is an excellent plan to go second-class in Germany, and in 
many parts of Europe, and the Homers as a general thing did 
so. But in Spain, and especially in night travelling. Mr. Horner 
was determined to secure all the comforts possible ; in fact, the first- 
class carriages are none too luxurious. He hesitated now, not 
liking, at the very start, to separate himself from his charges. 

"Why do you doubt?" said Nana, "We go always very safe. 
Hubert, do you buy the tickets for us, you have money." 

This was the sensible plan, of course, and this was the method 
adopted afterwards. The second-class compartment was very near 
the one chosen by the Homers for themselves. They saw the others 
safely disposed in their seats, which were comfortable enough, the 
only drawback being a row of Spanish hidalgos in mantas, with 
cigarettes in their mouths ; but the Spanish hidalgo is at present a 
very mild one. And thus Miss Lejeune retained her corner unmo- 
lested through the weary night. 

It was about two a. m. when they were all awakened by tb~ top- 
ping of the train in a huge dark station, dimly lighted. " Half an 
hour for refreshments ! ,! is the translation of the cry passed down 
the platform ; and the Homers all tumbled out hastily, Miss Lejeune 
in her slippers and sphinx-like veil, Bessie more asleep than awake, 
Tommy alert, as usual, at the rumor of food. He skipped off to 
rouse the rest, but the only recruit he could obtain was Fanny ; 
the others were too far gone in sleepiness. 

They pressed along with the rest of the passengers to the fonda 
or buffet, a long dark room thick with cigarette-smoke, and were 
shoved by the crowd into seats at one of several long tables, set 
with cups, without saucers, of thick crockery, filled with thick choc- 
olate. Each cup was covered with a flat, round sponge cake, to be 
broken and dipped into the brown substance which could not be 
called liquid. They watched the others, and did what they did, and 
strange to say, the food seemed to go to the right spot. A full 
glass of water stood by each cup, to be quaffed after it. No 



126 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



one spoke much ; the dark Spaniards with hats slouched over 
their heads, and mantas on their shoulders, sipped their favorite 
beverage in silence. Suddenly a wonderful creature, looking like a 
ruffian, with a bright waist-band stuck full of weapons, passed down 
the room. He had knives to sell, and daggers, with blades of Moorish 
curves, and hilts set with jewels, tinsel, in reality, — cheap and gaudy, 
but delightfully Spanish. The Homers all provided themselves, for 
a few pesetas apiece, and they brought back from Spain nothing 
more admired. 

Our Americans could not help feeling in a hurry, and they were 
almost the first to take their seats in the train. They found 
Nana with the baby, and Hubert, the sole occupants of their 

carriage ; all the Spaniards had taken 
themselves and their mantas to the 
fonda. 

Hubert sat up and stared at them 
with round eyes. 

" Where have you been ? " 
" Drinking chocolate, thick as mud ! 
And see my dagger ! ' cried Tommy, 
brandishing it. 

"Oh, I wish I had one! I wish I 
had chocolate ! " 

" Come with me, Hubert," said Mr. 
Horner ; " we will go back and you shall have some." 
"Oh! is there time?" asked Miss Augusta. 

" Time ! millions of time," replied Mr. Horner. 4< I dare say they 
will not start till to-morrow morning ! " 

" Manana ! MaTiana!" (To-morrow! to-morrow!) murmured Miss 
Lejeune. 

They were gone sometime, and Bessie said : 
" How mamma would worry ! but they are sure to be back." 
And so they were, but not until the guards were banging the 
doors, and urging the caballeros to take their places. Mr. Horner 
popped Hubert into his, and sprang to his seat. The door was 




CERVANTES. 




ANCIENT ENTRANCE. 



COMBINATION. 



129 



closed, and the train shook. " Did Hubert get a dagger ? " asked 
Tommy. 

" No ; the man had vanished. Perhaps we shall have another 
chance." 

It was ten o'clock the next morning before they arrived at Cor- 
dova, and they reached their note! in the stupid and owl-like 
condition to which no practice could make them accustomed. All 
acknowledged, however, that their nocturnal chocolate had had a good 
effect, — even Miss Augusta, — who abominated the stuff. 

They had passed during the night over the treeless, stony 
Campos de la Mancha, a name associated with Cervantes, and his 
hero Don Quixote. 




A riONTy\jNEEK«>««WAY HOME, 



230 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THKOUGH ttPAIN. 



CHAPTER XV. 



CORDOVA. 



pWN with the Goth and up with 
the Moor ! " cried Bessie, as they 
drove to their hotel through the 
narrow whitewashed streets of Cor- 
dova. 

" Why do you say that ? " asked 
sleepy Hubert. 

" Cannot you see for yourself," 
asked Bessie, " that everything is 
changed ? This is just as different 
from Toledo " — 

" Different to Toledo, you mean," 
grumbled Hubert. 

There were frequent skirmishes 
between the children on account of 
differences in their English. 

" Come, children, do not talk 
before breakfast," said Miss Lejeune. " Luckily we shall have some 
soon, for here we are." 

The hotel was upon a modern square ; a minaret of no historic 
importance, but in the Moorish style, rose before them, and the 
flat-roofed houses were all painted in gay colors, each story a dif- 
ferent tint. A few palm-trees showed their heads here and there. 
" How Eastern ! is it not ? " exclaimed. Mr. Horner. 
"More Eastern than the East!" replied Miss Lejeune. 
The Homers had allowed themselves but one day for Cordova, 




COAT OF ARMS OF CORDOVA. 



CORDOVA. 



13H 



as everybody told them the Mosque was the chief thing, and that 
it all could be done in a short time. This was true, but these 
single days of sight-seeing are very fatiguing, and should be avoided^ 
whenever it is possible. 

A good breakfast gave them courage, and after it, they sallied 



YC~- 6-\~ \.vx~. < -'r.sr~ 1 '-.,vv, --Ms 




ENTRANCE TO THE ORANGE PATIO. 



forth under the escort of a Moor, the only Arab left in Cordova, 
by his own account, Nana and the baby, by preference, retiring 
to bed for a solid sleep of five hours. 

They walked in the middle of the street, over rough cobble-stones,. 



332 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

sometimes meeting a donkey, but seldom seeing any inhabitants. 
Occasionally a glimpse through an iron barred gateway showed 
lovely patios with foliage and fountains ; but the streets presented 
blank whitewashed walls with but few windows. Each frequent turn 
of the street, excluding any glimpse of distance, shuts in the way- 
farer and prevents his gaining any notion of where he is going. 
It is very easy to lose one's self in the intricacies of a Spanish 
town, of which Cordova seems the most lonely and deserted. It is 
as if the inhabitants had vanished, leaving behind them solitude and 
the shadow of Moorish splendors past. 

Having reached the Mosque, they entered first the Court of 
•Oranges, a large enclosed patio with orange-trees planted in it, and 
at each end a colonnade of marble pillars supporting circular arches. 
It was so quiet, so Eastern within this enclosure, that they would 
have gladly lingered there ; but their Moor hurried them onward, and 
in a few minutes they were within the wonderful temple. 

The first impression is one of bewilderment and amazement, 
produced by the maze of pillars, often compared to a roofed-in 
forest. There are nearly a thousand columns, and wherever one 
is standing, as in a planted wood of pines, they form receding 
aisles. They are all of marbles of different colors and kinds, — green 
and red jasper, and porphyry, black, white, red or emerald. The 
arches connecting them are in stripes of red and white, which add 
to the variegated effect of the whole. 

It is wonderful, and wholly differs from the Gothic cathedrals 
the Homers had been seeing. The proportions are low, compared 
with the lofty aisles of Burgos and Toledo, and the effect new and 
strange. 

They liked less than ever to be led about and made to see 
details ; but their Moor was at their heels. The Mih-rab, or holiest 
place of the Mosque, they found the most beautiful specimen of 
Moorish decoration they had seen, not excepting similar places in 
the East; the rich coloring and gilding are still free from whitewash, 
which has covered so many Arabian splendors in Spain. Here 
once was kept the wonderful pulpit of Al-Hakem, of inlaid ivory 



CORDOVA. 



133 



and precious woods and stones, fastened with gold and silver 
nails. It was kept in a box covered with gold tissue embroidered 
with pearls and rubies. This pulpit disappeared not very long ago ; 
but the beautiful Mosaic ornamentation of the Mih-rab still remains 




INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE OF CORDOVA. 

to give an idea of its former splendor. In the festivities of Rha- 
madan, the Mosque used to be lighted with more than ten thou- 
sand lamps. 



134 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



When the Moors entered Cordova after their victory over the 
Goths, they assured the Christians, as usual, the liberty of their 
religion, and allowed them the use of their cathedral, built on the 
site of a temple to Janus. This church was extant in 745. 

But soon the population of Moors increased so much that they 
required more room for their own worship, and they were obliged 
to take away from the Christians half of their cathedral and make 
a mosque of it. In 784 Abdurrahman the First bought also the Chris- 
tian half, determined to build a magnificent mosque, on the plan of 
that at Damascus, and more splendid than the one at Bagdad. 

It must be remembered that this date, of the eighth century of 
our Christian era, was not two hundred years after Mohammed. 
The Mohammedan religion, therefore, was in great vigor, and new 
mosques were being built in the great cities of this faith, with 

the greatest splendor and display 
of wealth. This at Cordova was 
to be the Mecca of the West. 
The Caliph in person designed 
the plan, and is said to have 
worked upon the building himself 
for a few hours every day. He 
died, however, the year after it 
was begun, but his son Hixem 
carried it on with the same energy, 
and it was finished in 796, ten 
years after the first stone was 
laid. In its palmy days, the roof 
glistened with gilding and vivid 
colors, and thousands of gold 
and silver lamps ; its walls were 
worked like lace, in delicate arabesque, looking like Cashmere shawls, 
illuminated from behind, and its arches, studded with emeralds and 
rubies rested on the superbly colored columns. Now the precious 
stones are stolen, whitewash has obliterated most of the rich color- 
ing, and ignorance and neglect have done the rest. 




CHARLES V. 



CORDOVA. 



135 



On the conquest of the Moors by Ferdinand and Isabella, they 
had the Mosque purified and dedicated to the Virgin. Several 
chapels were added, and Charles the Fifth, in his time, allowed the 
erection of a church within the Mosque, consisting of a transept 
and choir in the very middle of the interior, amongst the grove of 
pillars, ruining every vista, and destroying the whole effect of the 
original plan. It is some comfort to know that when the emperor 




WALL OF THE MOSQUE OF CORDOVA. 

came to Cordova and saw what had been done, he was very indig- 
nant, and said he had no idea that the architects had meant to 
meddle with the old part. 

The Homers were so disgusted with the stupidity of the archi- 
tects, which allowed them to deface so wonderful a piece of original 
work by putting anything else inside of it, that they could scarcely 
look at the elaborately carved pulpits, and stalls, the retablo of 
jasper and gilt ornaments of the emperor's chapel, all rich and well 
executed in the sixteenth century. Other Spanish churches in 



136 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 



other places they might admire, but not this misplaced specimen. 
After they left the cathedral, the Moor took them to the site of 
the Caliph's palace, of which nothing now remains but a few walls 
and orchards. There is a modern house with a garden containing 
some trace of the old water-works ; they wandered through shady 
alleys, overhung with neglected rose-bushes and pomegranates in 
blossom. The nespola was ripe, an odd fruit, like a little pear with 
a stone in the middle. They sat upon a bench above a large stone 
tank in which carp were swimming, and tempted the fish to rise by 
throwing in to them little bits of stick and flowers, as they had no 
bread, or anything to make crumbs with. Great lazy creatures came 
and poked up their noses at the bright geranium petals, and whisked 




BRIDGE OVER THE GUADALQUIVIR. 



away contemptuously, but they did not tell the rest, for others kept 
coming. The Moor gathered little bunches of flowers for the ladies. 
It was very pleasant to sit in the shade, and see the bright sunlight 
and sky. Before them rose the walls of the Alcazar Nuevo, now 
used as a prison. 

This Alcazar was once the palace of the Gothic kings, where 
the Caliphs lived afterwards, repairing it and enlarging it. Moor- 
ish writers describe its wonderful gardens and ha)ls, and its baths 



CORDOVA. 137 

provided with water brought from the Guadalquivir through a brick 
hydraulic machine. These baths lasted until the end of the fifteenth 
century, when the huge wheel which supplied them with water was 
destroyed, because its noise kept Queen Isabella awake, when she 
was established in the Alcazar. 

From an arbor in the terrace of the garden all overhung with, 
grapevines then in blossom, could be seen the bridge over the 
Guadalquivir, of sixteen arches, very picturesque, with a many- 
sided tower beyond it. Miss Lejeune made a little pencil sketch 
of it in her note book, while the boys and Fanny took a second 
excursion around the weedy paths of the rambling, neglected gar- 
den. Bessie leaned against the parapet looking off on the hot 
midday landscape, and dreamed of the Caliphs of Cordova. The 
Moorish guide, awaiting them, sat upon the lowest of the steps^ 
leading to the arbor, and hummed little Arabic songs that reminded 
them of the East. This midsummer dream was disturbed by Tommy, 
who came running up, saying : 

" Fanny don't feel well. I believe she is too hot. She is sitting 
on the steps over there ! " 

Miss Lejeune shut up her sketch book at once. 

" She has been running about in the heat too much," she said. 
" Where is your father ? " 

" Papa ! papa ! " called Bessie and Tommy with one breath. 

" He is somewhere in the gardens," said Bessie, " he will find us."' 

They hastened, the guide following, to the place indicated by 
Tommy, and found poor Fanny, now looking very white, sitting on 
a stone step, and leaning against the trunk of a palm-tree which 
happened to be there. Hubert was wetting her forehead with his- 
handkerchief which he had dipped in the carp pond. 

" I feel so dizzy," moaned Fanny. 

Mr. Horner now approached from another direction. " Poor child ! 
it is the heat," he said ; " we must carry you home." 

He stooped to lift her in his arms, but the guide put him 
aside, and bearing the little girl well and firmly, led the way back. 
to the hotel. 



138 



A FAMILY FLIGHT TI1K0UGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



ANDALUSIA. 







BESSIE'S letter to Mary will 
describe the rest of their day 



in Cordova. 

14 Now you must know that at 
breakfast a stout man sat opposite 
me with whom we had nothing to 
do until I took a piece of cheese 
and began to eat it before engag- 
ing upon an orange. The man 
now accosted me, and said in 
French, that it was dangerous to 
do that, as the two things did 
not join well in the stomach. This 
began a friendly conversation, which 
was followed up by an invitation 
to see his strawberry garden. 
14 So after we came back from the Mosque and Alcazar gardens, 
although we were most dead, we took a carriage and drove to 
his place, on an open sort of boulevard near the railway, modern 
built, and quite different from the winding whitewash of the 
Moorish streets. He was a most dear man, the Gefe of mechanicians 
of the railroad. You must pronounce Gefe as if you were going 
to say hay-fever, but stop short of the last syllable. He is 
Alsatian, but his wife, from Malaga, speaks only Spanish Her 
mother, however, came originally from Germany, and we tried a 
little of that language with the old lady. If you could have seen 
us all hobnobbing in these languages, and receiving handsful of 



MOORISH KNOCKER. 



ANDALUSIA. 139 

the most delicious fat roses, jasmines, orange blossoms, gilly 
flowers, larkspurs, pansies, all the time our radiant host telling us 
how he loved to have us see his garden, which owes its luxuriance 
to intelligent irrigation. A little fountain was playing in the mid- 
dle of it, and little rivers trickled everywhere with bright borders 
of grass dipping in them. His strawberry bed bears all the year 
round ; and a muchacha was set to gather strawberries the minute 
we got there ; and by and by when it was high time to come 
away, we were led into the house where there was a piano they 
forced me to play on — me ! I played — 

Way down upon the Swanee River, 

and they thought it was beautiful. Anyhow it filled up the time 
till a repast of fruit was prepared. The Gefe took great oranges 
from his own tree, cut them in two, squeezed them like a sponge, 
and the juice poured out over the strawberries heaped up in a 
big dish, with lots of sugar. This is the true way to eat them, 
in a land where both fruits are really sweet. But fancy the straw- 
berry of commerce, at home, with a sour Valencia orange squeezed 
over it ! Not all the sugar at Park & Tilford's could sweeten that 
combination. He brought out his own wine from his own grapes. 
It was not first-class, but the intention was good, as you say 
about a bad water-color ; we all touched glasses and sipped, and 
-finally came away with expressions of mutual and undying regard. 
You can't imagine what a dear man he was, and he behaved 
exactly as if we were the only people he had ever loved." 

Bessie and her father were the only Homers who enjoyed this 
episode of Cordovan hospitality, for Miss Lejeune was not sorry 
for the excuse of staying at home to look after little Fanny, and 
the boys declined the formality of a visit. When they heard after- 
wards of the feast of strawberries, they all thought perhaps they 
had made a mistake. 

As for Fanny, a cool dark room, and sound sleep on a comfort- 
able bed, soon restored her. Probably the heat had overcome her. 



140 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



Nana, refreshed by a quiet morning, was cheerful and active, and 
sat by Fanny's bedside during the rest of the day, while the boys 
looked after the baby, and amused her with playthings in the 
salon of the hotel. 

They were glad to go to bed early, after the uneasy night before, 

and the long sight- 
seeing day ; moreover, 
they were to be called 
at four the next morn- 
ing, to take the train 
at six o'clock for 
Seville. 

Cordova was the 
gem of the South as 
long ago as Roman 



times. Under the 
Goths it lost its im- 
portance, but regained 
it under the Moors, 
who made it the cap- 
ital of their part of 
Spain. The wealth, 
luxury and splendor 
it contained at that 
time was like the 
descriptions in the 
Arabian Nights ; it 
lasted through various 
changes of Arabic 
rule until the thir- 
teenth century, when 
it was captured by Saint Ferdinand, and lost all its prosperity, 
which it since has never recovered. 

In spite of its Moorish attributes, Cordova is now a good Chris- 
tian city, and under the especial protection of the Archangel Raphael, 




CHURCH OF SAN PABLO, CORDOVA. 



ANDALUSIA. 



141 



in whose honor 
ment was erected 
On top of a col- 
angel stands, a 
with outstretched 
with gilding, like 
ing over his city, 
umn is an arti- 
rock-work, about 
a lion, and a 
grouped in a gro- 
less way, with 
statues. It is said 
gel appeared in 
certain priest of 
chamber, and 
swear to you 
Angel Raphael, 
has given to me 
of this city." 
in 1578, and in 
of it the monu- 
later. The words 




a huge monu- 
a century ago. 
umn the arch- 
sword in hand, 
wings, and bright 
a sentinel watch- 
Below the col- 
ficial mound of 
which a horse, 
sea-monster are 
tesque and taste- 
f o u r allegorical 
that the archan- 
person before a 
Cordova in his 
said to him: "I 
that I am the 
and that God 
the guardianship 
This happened 
commemoration 
ment was made 
of the angel, 




Raphael's pillar. 



142 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

in Spanish, are inserted upon its base. In Cordova the Homers first 
understood the real patio, which is at its best in Andalusia ; other 
square courtyards they had seen which bore the name, but they 
were not to compare with the brightness of the one into which 
their Moor led them from the dull street. 

A patio is not merely a court, it is not only a garden, but a 
court, garden, and a parlor all in one. Between this one and the 
street was a narrow passage, or vestibule, paved with marble, 
flanked with columns, surmounted with bas-reliefs, closed with a 
grille, or gate, of light iron railings gracefully designed. Opposite 
the entrance was a statue ; in the middle a fountain was playing 
and a palm-tree and orange-trees were growing ; chairs and tables, 
vases of flowers, books and work were scattered about, just left by 
the people of the house, who there could enjoy the charms of 
ourdoors life with all the seclusion of an interior. Above was an 
awning which might be drawn over the top if the sun should 
intrude too far. 

Miss Lejeune was delighted with this lovely specimen of a patio. 

" We must have them at home," she exclaimed ; " why not ? We 
might build them in New York just as well as here." 

"Instead of back yards!" said Tommy. 

" I'll tell you how we could manage it. The Grillsons and we 
could run our back yards together." 

This was Bessie's plan. 

"It would be best," said Mr. Horner, lending himself to the 
project, " for four houses to combine, do not you think so ? Two on 
each street, whose yards touch as ours does with the Grillsons. 
Then instead of that narrow back street which the grocer's carts 
frequent, there would be a series of patios, with houses running 
about the four sides. 

" Yes," continued Bessie, " and there could be Moorish arches 
underneath the houses for the carts to drive through." 

w It would not be nice," objected Miss Lejeune, "to have all 
the carts and the rag and bottle men coming through our patio 
when we were taking our siestas?" 




PATIO OF A PRIVATE HOUSE, CORDOVA. 



ANDALUSIA. 145 

"And I should not want the Grillson boy to have the same 
patio with us," said Tommy. 

" Oh, well ! " said his father, " if there is that difficulty, we shall 
have to wait until we love our neighbors as ourselves before we 
introduce patios in New York." 

The ride from Cordova to Seville was lovely in the early morn- 
ing, for they were fresh from a good sound sleep in their beds, and 
could enjoy it. The road was bordered with hedges of agave and 
cactus, the tall flower stalks of the former shooting up as high as 
the telegraph poles, for which they might serve if they were only 
permanent. The ones just preparing to blossom looked like huge 
asparagus stalks, Fanny said ; others more advanced spread out side 
shoots like the branches of gigantic candelabra. All the land was 
covered with verdure ; by the running streams masses of pink ole- 
ander bloomed and marked their course ; the fluffy blossom of yel- 
low acacia perfumed the air, and its sweet scent floated in at the 
open window. 

In short it was Andalusia ! Andalusia, the land of romance and 
sunshine, the most beautiful province of beautiful Spain. 

Andalusia embraces the whole of Southern Spain, and its farth- 
est cape is the extreme southerly point not only of Spain, but of 
Europe. One chain of its mountains, the Sierra Nevada, contains 
the highest summits of the peninsula, and its river, the Guadal- 
quivir, from Seville to the ocean, is the only stream of real ser- 
vice for navigation in the country. The wines and olives of An- 
dalusia, its grapes, and oranges, and fruits of all kinds, are the finest, 
its horses and cattle are the best, its bulls are the fiercest of all 
Spain. Its cities are famous for their attractions, and its men and 
women for their grace and beauty. All things take on an air of 
loveliness in this land of warmth and glow. The Moors left a 
deeper mark here than elsewhere, for they kept their beloved realm 
of Granada long after they had lost the rest of Spain. 

The people of Andalusia partake of the lightness and joy of 
their climate ; with them all is joy, light, wit, dolce far niente. Life 
is pleasure ; they puff their cigarito, strike their guitar, and pass 



146 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THKOUGH SPAIN. 



their days with song and laughter. Their manners are superb ; even 
the beggars in the street raise their hats with courteous elegance. 
If the natural defects accompany this character ; if they lie, and steal, 
and are lazy and cowardly, it is a pity; the Homers were inclined 
to see the charming side of them, and disbelieve the other. They 
are superstitious, but devoted to their religion; the churches are 
frequented by devout and earnest worshippers. 




KAfVLY SPAIN. 



147 



CHAPTER XVII. 



EARLY SPAIN. 




ANDALUSIANS 



( ERY early, the Moham- 
medans reached in Spain 
a higher degree of civil- 
ization than in any other 
part of the world. At its 
outset, its successes were 
brilliant ; the military spirit and 
discipline which it established 
among all classes gave to the 
nations who embraced it the 
appearance of a vast, well-ordered 
camp, and the importance it 
gave to combat and conquest was peculiarly well adapted to the 
character of the wild tribes among whom they were preached. The 
successors of Mohammed, called Caliphs, represented both his spiritual 
and temporal authority. It was their duty to lead the army in 
battle, and on the pilgrimage to Mecca. Their authority had all 
the force of divine sanction, and their ordinances, however weak 
or wicked they might be, became laws which it was sacrilege to 
disobey. 

Within a century after the coming of Mohammed, their apostle, 
they had already set up their religion over vast regions in Asia 
and on the northern shores of Africa, and arrived before the 
Straits of Gibraltar, ready for the invasion of Spain, led thither 
by their love of conquest, their long career of victory, and the 
rich spoils offered by the Gothic monarchy. 



148 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



After the fatal baUle of the Guadalete, fought in the summer 
of 711, which ended in the slaughter of King Roderick and the 
flower of his nobility, the Goths never rallied under one head, 
though they made enough resistance in various strong positions to 
postpone for three years the final conquest. Their conquerors were 
liberal. Such Christians as chose, were permitted to remain in the 
kingdom and wuishrp in their own way, and to be governed 

mostly by their own laws ; in short, 
they were much better treated than 
the Moors were afterwards by the 
Christians, when their turn came to 
have the upper hand 

Having thus made for themselves 
a foothold on the Peninsula, the 
Moors pressed farther forward into 
Europe, with the ambition probably 
of carrying the banner of the 
prophet to the very shores of the 
Baltic. True believers flocked to 
the white standard of the house of 
Omeya from the farthest parts of 
the dominions of the Caliphs ; and 
the whole Mohammedan world con- 
templated the expedition with the 
deepest interest. But their progress was checked by the far-famed 
defeat at Tours, in 733, where a combined army of Franks, Germans, 
and Belgians marched upon them, led by the great Charles Martel, 
who here won his title of "The Hammer," in memory of the 
blows he £ave his enemies on that occasion. The contest of that 
day was long ana Diooay ; wnen aarKness arrived it was unde- 
cided, and all night the Christians remained in their tents under 
arms. At dawn they prepared to renew the struggle ; the white 
tents of the Arabs extending far on every side, were still there, 
but not a living creature came out to meet them. The enemy 
had abandoned their camo. and silently slipped away Christendom 




ARMS OF SEVILLE. 



EARLY SPAIN. 



140 



i ~j •*" 



was saved. The churches were filled with people of all ranks, 
thanking Heaven for so signal a victory. 

Thus cut oif from conquest in Euorpe, the Arabs began to 
quarrel among themselves, and their overgrown empire was broken 
up. The province of Spain was the first to secede ; and 
the Omeya family occupied its throne as independent princes 
for three centuries, ruling wisely and well. The race of the 
Omeyades need not shrink from a comparison with any other 
dynasty of equal length in modern Europe. Their long reigns, 
peaceful deaths, and the 
unbroken line of their suc- 
cession, prove the justice and 
wisdom of their sway. Their 
princes of the blood were 
intrusted to the care of 
learned men, to be instructed 
in the duties of reigning ; 
they were encouraged to 
compete in the academies 
of Cordova for the prizes 
of poetry and eloquence, and 
frequently carried them off. 

The splendor of this dy- 
nasty was shown in their 
palaces, mosques, and hospit- 
als, and their admirable 
system of irrigation which 
still fertilizes the south of 
Spain. 

Their fountains and aque- 
ducts rivalled those of Rome. 




^ 



MANOLA. 



These works were scattered all over the country, and devoted to the 
adornment of Cordova, their favorite residence and capital. The 
wealth of the Mohammedan princes of that age was immense, and 
their superiority in useful arts and industry perfectly well accounts 



150 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 




ANDALUSIAN SERENADE 



for it. The sov- 
ereign had for 
his share one 
fifth of the spoil 
taken in battle, 
and one tenth of 
all the produce 
of the country. 
He often en- 
ged in commerce on his own 
account; and mines belonging to 
the crown brought to it a lar^e 
income. 

But the best mine of the Ca- 
liphs was in the industry and 
sobriety of their subjects. The 
Moors introduced into Southern 
Spain various tropical plants and 
vegetables whose cultivation has 
departed with them. The silk 
manufacture was largely carried 
on by them, and with fine fabrics 
of cotton and woollen, made an 
active commerce with the Levant 
and Constantinople, spread 
by means of caravans all 
over Europe. Alhakem the 
Second is a 
good specimen 
of a despotic 
sovereign em- 
ploying his 
power to pro- 
mote the hap- 
pin ess and 



EARLY SPAIN. 151 

intelligence of his race. In his tastes, love of knowledge, and munifi- 
cent patronage, he was a kind of Medici among the Moors ; he 
encouraged literature in every way, and amassed for himself a library 
said to contain six hundred thousand volumes. Writers swarmed over 
the Peninsula at this period ; not only men, but women, devoted 
themselves to letters. Scholars from all parts of Europe, Christian 
.as well as Arabic, came to Cordova ; for this period, brilliant for 
the Mohammedans, corresponds with that of the deepest barbarism 
of Europe, when a library of three or four hundred volumes was a 
great thing for the richest monastery. 

But this greatest prosperity was followed by sudden decay. 
Alhakem died in 821. During the life of his successor, the Empire 
of the Omeyades was broken up into a hundred little states, and 
the magnificent capital, Cordova, dwindled into a second-rate city. 
Now was the chance for those Spanish monarchs to assert themselves, 
who, during all the Moorish period, had retained in the North their 
titles and successions in a direct line from Roderick the Goth. 
By the ninth century they had reached the Douro and the Ebro, 
and by the close of the eleventh, under the victorious banner of 
the Cid, they had advanced to the Tagus. 

With Hixem the Third (a. d. 103 1) ended the Caliphate of the West 
and the noble race of the Omeyades. From this period to the 
■establishment of the kingdom of Granada, there was no supreme 
chief of Moorish Spain. The part of the country, ever growing 
less, which was free from the approach of the Christian armies, was 
governed by petty kings ; and by the middle of the thirteenth 
century, i^s constantly contracting circle had shrunk into the narrow 
limits of the province of Granada, where, however, on a compara- 
tively small point of their ancient domain, the Moors erected a new 
kingdom of sufficient strength to resist for more than two 
-centuries, the united forces of the Spanish monarchies. 

Meantime, while the Moorish dynasty in Spain was rising to so 
great a height to fall so low, Christian Spain, for several hundred 
years, had been nothing but a collection of little states, always 
quarrelling with each other. At the close of the fifteenth century, 



152 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



these various provinces were blended into one great nation, under 
one common rule, strong enough to overthrow its enemies, and 
eject from the land the race alien to its religion. By this time, 
the number of states into which the whole country was divided, was 
reduced to four: — three Christian, Castile, Aragon and Navarre, 




^C^ 



FOUNTAIN IN THE ALHAMRRA. 



all belonging to a common faitli, though not united in government, 
and Grenada, the sole remaining Moorish kingdom. 

Aragon at that time included Catalonia and Valencia ; to the 
crown of Castile had fallen all the other provinces except little 
Navarre, which, shut within the Pyrenees, continued to maintain its 



WmmhwMw. 



»«?H 



ilill ii: #| P 



t'fi'lirili'l 
lift 






"1' '^M'!/ j : WiS 
1 ? Ill-* \\> 

u ►. : ' ./ill 




BALCONY IN SEVILLE. 



EAKLY SPAIN. i55 

independence when the rest of the smaller states in the Peninsula 
had been absorbed in the dominion of either Castile or Aragon. 

Castile, from an early time, held the first place over all the 
other states, and when at length they were consolidated, the capi- 
tal of Castile became the capital of the new empire, and her lan- 
guage the language of the court, as of literature. 

From the beginning of this period, the nation which had been 
corrupted by the long prosperity of the Gothic reigns, experienced 
the salutary influence of adversity. Entire reformation of luxurious 
habits was necessary when a scanty subsistence only could be 
earned by a life of temperance and toil. Thus grew up the real 
Spaniard, from the stock of the Goth, but with new qualities of 
endurance and heroism, a sober, hardy, independent race, prepared 
to demand its ancient inheritance, and to lay the foundation of a 
better government than that before known. 

Their struggles with the Moors, and their own discussions, de- 
layed the growth of this people ; but at length their long wars 
with the Mohammedans kindled in their hearts the glow of a 
united patriotism ; their ardor for religion became intense, fed by 
their aversion to that of the foe. 

Thus patriotism, religious loyalty, and a proud sense of independ- 
ence, founded upon knowing that they owed their possessions to 
their personal prowess, became characteristic traits of the true 
Spaniards. The spirit of chivalry kept up by traditional ballads 
and legends, possessed in those times Spaniard and Moor alike. 
The Spanish knight became a hero of romance, wandering over his 
own land, and even into farther climes, in quest of adventures. 
This romantic spirit lingered in Castile long after the age of 
chivalry had become extinct in other parts of Europe, until its 
illusions of fancy were dispelled by the satire of Cervantes, who 
makes of his hero, Don Quixote, a burlesque hidalgo in search of 
adventures, yet describes him with so charming a style that we 
love him while we laugh at him, and do not cease to reverence 
the spirit which influenced the age of romance and chivalry. 



156 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



SEVILLA. 



DELIGHTFUL weather followed the Homers to Seville, and 
justified their choice of May and June for travelling in .Spain. 
Delightful rooms, also, they had in the Fonda de Europa, in the 
Calle Sierpes, which means Serpent street, and well it deserves its 
name, from its winding course. They had to descend from the 
railway omnibus at the entrance to the street, for it is too narrow 
for driving, and posts are put up to prevent vehicles from entering. 
So they followed the guide through the narrow street full of foot 
passengers and flower-stalls, to the entrance of the hotel, and their 
baggage was brought after them on wheelbarrows. The hotel was 
a rambling sort of place, a part of which had once been a convent ; 
there were convent stairs leading down by a broad sweep to the 
patio, where a fountain was playing, with gold fish in it, and banana 
trees and oranges were growing. 

The patio was surrounded by a sort of arcade, under which little 
tables and sofas were placed, where the guests might have coffee 
in the morning, or sip their after-dinner demi-tasse. The dining-room 
opened on this patio, a long, low place where thirty or forty people 
breakfasted and dined. The Homers enjoyed this table d'hote, for 
there every variety of nationality was represented, and the talk 
was always animated in several different languages. 

A very vivacious Italian, who was evidently an old stager, delighted 
in discussions upon the politics and religion of Spain , and he was 
equally ready in French, Spanish or German. English he protested 
he could not manage, and his efforts to get on in that language 
with an English lady who sometimes sat next him, were very 



I5EVILLA. 



157 



amusing. The food provided was very good, and now the Homers 
were becoming used to a good deal of oil in the cooking, and to 
seeing the fish turn up in the middle ol dinner. 

It seemed somewhat odd now to have Hubert and Fanny domesti- 
cated in the bosom of the Horner family ; at first there were some 
little hitches in the way of discipline, for the English children,, 
both of them, were a little inclined to take their own way about 
what they ate and where they went ; but the Horner rule was SO' 
light that they soon yielded to the gentle sway of Miss Lejeune, and 
the controlling glance of Mr. Horner. 

" Not a third orange, I think, Fanny," Miss Augusta had to say 




DESERTED SQUARE. 

once, and Fanny put down the one she was taking from the dish with 
a start, surprised that her doing so had been observed. The other 
children considered Fanny to be rather greedy, and probably she did 
eat too much, for she looked thin and pale, and suffered from 
indigestion sometimes, a thing unknown to the healthy Homers. 
Their rooms overlooked the patio, and across the tops of banana- 
trees and the blue striped awnings below, to a kind of terrace with 
a carved railing on which stood plaster busts at intervals, rather 



158 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN", 

the worse for wear, and flower pots set between them fu)\ <)i bright 
geraniums and other gay flowers. Upon this terrace the senoras 
came and went, who did the washing on top of the house. Spanish 
politeness calls every maid and washerwoman a senora. There 
were two delightful old hags who performed this function at the 
Fonda de Europa, and the children became very intimate with them ; 
for this roof, reached by a long flight of shaky steps :rom the 
terrace, was their favorite resort. It was a series of flat roofs 
rather than one, and a little house was built up on it for washing 
purposes. While Miss Lejeune was sketching there, taking advan- 
tage of the shade furnished by this little hut, the senoras • stood 
at their tubs scrubbing the clothes, and chattering and laughing in 
the liveliest Castilian. The younger of them appeared to be about 
one hundred and fifty years old : but was probably less, for 
women of that class begin to look old early in Spain, as in the East. 

The senoras were very friendly with the boys, and encouraged 
their acquaintance with a dark little Spaniard, the son of the pro- 
prietor. He had a kite like many other Seville boys, who were to 
be seen tending these broad square playthings on other roofs. 
The kites soared about above the spires and domes of Seville, and 
stood out dark against the glowing sky where the picturesque 
Giralda rose not far off. 

Much as they liked their hotel, the top of it was their favorite 
part ; and, after a day of sight-seeing, they often climbed to the 
roof and sat leaning against strong parapets which offered them- 
selves most conveniently for their backs, resting and rejoicing in 
the lovely Andalusian atmosphere. 

They settled themselves for a week or more in Seville, tired with 
the hurry of Cordova, and the crowded impressions of the brief 
stay at Toledo. The weather was still so fresh and cool that they 
felt safe on that score, and Seville was one of the places whicl: 
they had promised themselves to thoroughly explore. 

So every one was permitted to take out from trunks and boxes 
the little luxuries of life ; and before the first day was over, their 
large and pleasant salon was littered with everything which could 



SEVILLA. 



159 



make it seem homelike. A large round table in the middle of the 
room was heaped with guide-books, novels, dictionaries and writing 
materials ; the blotting-cases of each member of the party found 
a place there, with sketching blocks and paint boxes. A huge 




CATHEDRAL GATE. 



manola, ten inches across or more, which Bessie had bought, a bud, 
at the flower-stall in Serpent street, spread itself over the tumbler 
it stood in, and filled the room with its fragrance. The great 



160 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 







GIRALDA. 



bouquets given them by their kind Gefe at Cordova, adorned the 
room, still fresh, for a day, after which they were given to the 
senoras to throw away ; but these aged crones, choosing each a 
bright, though somewhat faded, carnation, stuck these flowers in their 
hair with true Andalusian coquetry. How they laughed and wagged 

their old heads when Bessie praised them. 
" Oh ! would it not be nice," exclaimed 
Bessie, as they came back to their room 
after almuerzo, "if we had not to go out 
and see sights. I like this room just as 
well as all the rest of Seville. I believe I 
will stay here all the time, and look across 
the patio and merely go up on the roof 
occasionally." 

She was stretching >er feet out comfort- 
ably before her, having thrown herself into 
a remarkably easy chair, with her hands clasped over her head. 

"Very well, my dear," said her father. "Do as you like. We 
will tell you all about it when we come back. But as Juan is 
waiting for us below, those who intend to do the Alcazar to-day 
must be ready soon." 

"Does Nana know we are going out, Fanny?" asked Miss Lejeune 
of the little girl who was leaning over the railing of the wide window, 
looking down at the paroquets and other birds in the court below. 

"She's down there with baby," said Fanny, calling "Nana! Nana! 
come up and dress me to go out ! " 

"Well, I may as well exert myself," said Bessie, who was the 
last to be left behind on any occasion. "Where are my boots?" 

As often in Spanish hotels, two dark bedrooms, side by side, 
opened by glass doors upon the salon. It is not a bad arrange- 
ment, as it shuts out bedroom characteristics during the day, and 
at night the doors can be thrown open for ventilation; but the 
want of light in these places makes the whereabouts of boots, hats, 
and gloves, somewhat doubtful, except to the most methodical. Thus 
it was some time before the party could be got too-ether. 



SEVILLA. 



161 



" Now where are the boys ? " asked Mr. Horner, returning from 
his room which was on the other side of the corridor, looking on 
a mysterious den where turkeys were kept, and hens and chickens, 
and where great rats shared the food of these fowls. 

"Were they not with you, papa?" asked Bessie. 

" No ; I have not seen them since breakfast." 

" I will go up on the roof and look for them," suggested Fanny. 

"No; because then you will be lost!" said Mr. Horner, with a 
little impatience. "Did not they 
know we were going out ? " 

" Oh, yes, papa ! I dare say they 
are down at the door with Juan 
already." 

And so it proved ; only that when 
they arrived at the door, although 
the two boys were there, Juan, tired 
of waiting — it was now an hour 
after the time appointed for him — 
had "just stepped round a corner 
for a moment." 

Calle Sierpes is all corners ; so it 
was difficult to follow the guide. A 
servant of the hotel being sum- 
moned, hunted him up after a further 
delay of about five minutes, and 
then the party was under way, 
crossing the sunny plaza, almost 
deserted at this hot time of day. 

"■It is so hot and so sunny," 
said Miss Lejeune, "do not you 
think we had better postpone the 
gardens of the Alcazar?" she asked, after a little pause. 

Juan pronounced that early morning would be a better time for 

that. 

"Then let us simply take a turn through the Cathedral," said 





GIRALDILLA. 



162 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

Mr. Horner ; " we can, too, if we like, climb to the top of the 
Giralda." 

"Do not count me for going up things!" cried Miss Lejeune, 
shaking her head. 

"Aunt Dut, they say this is very easy," said Bessie; "it is made 
for horses ; you can do it perfectly well." 

" Are you sure it was not made for donkeys, my dear ? " demanded 
Miss Augusta. 

They had now reached the square of the Cathedral, and the 
pretty tower of the Giralda, which serves as its campanile, was 
before them. 

It is called La Giralda, from the revolving weathercock on top ; 
a bronze figure representing Faith, called la Giraldilla. It is a 
vestige of the mosque which once stood where the Cathedral is 
now, and was built as a muezzin tower. The warm rose-color of 
the brick of which it is built, combined with white stone, and inlaid 
tiles of green, gives a light Oriental effect which is very charming. 

" Tommy," said his father, " it is said that this was built by the 
man who invented algebra, which was named after him, for his 
name was Geber." 

" I wish he had never invented it," growled Tommy. 







m% 






ANOTHEK CATHEDRAL. 163 



CHAPTER XTX. 



ANOTHER CATHEDRAL. 



WHEN the chapter began the present cathedral in 1402, they 
decided to erect a church so large and beautiful, ,l that 
coming ages will say we were mad to attempt it." The last stone 
was laid in 1508, a century having been devoted to the task. 

There are different styles in different parts, but the main body 
inside is strictly Gothic. AH the styles and all the arts have com- 
bined to produce here their first effects. The Moorish Giralda, the 
Graeco-Roman exterior, give variety and prepare the eye for the 
beautiful Gothic arches within, where the paintings are by some 
of the greatest masters, the stained glass among the finest speci- 
mens known, the sculpture beautiful, and the jewelers and silver- 
smiths' work is rare and unrivalled. 

The first impression on entering is one of awe and reverence. 
There is a sublimity in the sombre masses and clusters of spires, 
whose proportions and details are somewhat lost in great shadows- 
which pervade the place, among the lofty naves and countless gilt 
altars. Vast proportions, unity of design, severity and simplicity of 
ornament, give the Cathedral at Seville a place among works of 
real genius in architecture. 

This huge square building is on a platform with a broad paved 
terrace running all around, ascended by steps. The pillars belong 
to Roman temples and the old mosque. There are nine entrances- 
of different styles and periods. One of the most remarkable is the 
Puerta del Lagarto, so called from the crocodile placed there. This 
was sent to Saint Ferdinand by the Sultan of Egypt, amongst other 
curious animals, many of which died on the way, and were stuffed 



164 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



and placed in the cloisters. The Puerta del Pardon leads to the 
Court of Oranges. Its high horseshoe arch and its bronze doors 
are Moorish, built as early as 340 a. d. 

The Court of Oranges is a huge paved patio, with a fountain 




INTERIOR OF CATHEDRAL. 



in the middle ; here are seen the projecting sides of the transept, 
and the airy, flying buttresses springing from one nave to another, 
with open-work, richly decorated pinnacles, little pillars and domes 



ANOTHER ( : ATII K I) K A I,. 



165 



full of variety, movement, 
and beauty. 

Within, there are nine 
naves, aisles supported by 
graceful pillars surmounted 
by Gothic arches. Like 
the Cordova mosque, it 
seems a forest, but a differ- 
ent one. This might be a 
grove of stately maples, 
while that suggests a wood 
of sturdy pine-trees. The 
choir, as usual in Spanish 
churches, blocks up the 
central portion , but there 
is so much space around 
it that it seems but a detail, 
for there are so many long 
vistas unencumbered by 
any obstacle from one end 
of the church to the other. 

The first dome of the 
Cathedral fell in the night, 
December, 15 1 1. Great 
was the consternation at 
the news ; and every town 
sent its own architect to 
repair the misfortune ; to 
him ol Salamanca was 
given the glory of replac- 
ing it, am bus completing 
the Cathedra, as it now 
stands 

The chapels are full of 
sculptures and paintings 



/ 



a ////■// f; 




PJERTA DEL PARDuN. 



166 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 




enough to tire the eye and brain before the round has half been made. 
Over the altar in one of the Chapels there is a mysterious solemn 
picture of the Descent from the Cross, ascribed to a pupil of Michael 

Ancrpln Tt is said that Mnrillo liked 

this picture so much that he desired 
to be buried before it. He used to 
stand for hours looking at it ; and 
he once replied to some one who 
asked what he was doing : 

" I am waiting till those holy men 
have taken down our Lord." ' 

His own works adorn the chapels 
of the Cathedral, and nowhere in the 
world do they give so fine an effect, 
as here among the solemn influences 
and grave shadows of the consecrated 
pile. 

The Conception, by Murillo, in 
the Chapter House, Miss Lejeune 
considered the most beautiful and 
wonderful of his works ; it is placed 
nobly, hung high above the ground, 
and surrounded by a profusion of 
delicate carvings. The Virgin's ex- 
pression is exquisite, the coloring 
perfect. 

One of the chapels contains a 
picture with a peculiar and excep- 
tional interest. It is one of Murillo's 
grandest paintings, called St. Anthony 
of Padua. It is very large, and fills 
an immense space on the wall, and 
is separated from the spectator by the railing of the chapel, which 
is itself dark, while a strong side light falls upon the picture. The 
Saint is kneeling and stretching his arms toward the vision of the 



/ w 



\ ' m 






HOLY MOTHER. 



ANOTHER CATHEDRAL. 



167 



infant Jesus, who descends toward him amid cherubs, and flowers, 
and sunbeams. Below this bright group of immortals, is seen through 
a vista the cloister of the convent, dark and solemn by contrast with 
the radiance above. The figure of the Saint occupies about one 
quarter of the canvas, which, seen from the first, appears harmonious 
and perfect ; but a close examination from the side shows that it 
has been joined and patched, and that the place occupied by the 
principal figure must have been at one time empty. This is the 
painting, which, by a bold theft, was deprived of its most important 
part. 

One morning when the custodian of that portion of the Cathedral 
came to it, Saint Anthony was gone ; actually cut out of the can- 




SEVILLE HOUSETOPS. 



vas, whose ragged edges revealed a barren space. The excitement 
was intense, not only in the Cathedral, but all over Spain; in fact, 
all over the world which recognizes the value of Murillo's work, and 
the daring of such an attempt to convert it into money. Before 
very long the canvas bearing the Saint was presented at the New 
York Custom House. It was strictly detained there, and afterwards 



168 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

returned to its proper owners. Saint Anthony has been restored 
to his place in the picture ; the edges are so carefully joined that 
it cannot be considered injured ; and so his unexpected journey to 
America and back, lends a new interest to the principal figure. 

The Homers could not begin to see all the wonders of painting, 
carving, and gilding, at one visit to the Cathedral. Fanny was 
soon tired, and pleaded to be left to rest on a bench near one of 
the chapels. The others soon joined her, and Bessie said joyfully : 

" Come, Fanny, are you rested now ? We are all going to the 
top of the Giralda." 

Mr. Horner and Miss Lejeune followed, coming away thoughtfully 
from the study of Zurbaran's pictures in a dark chapel. The boys 
were hunted up, and they all came forth into the bright sunlight. 

"I think the way will be," said Miss Lejeune, "to do the interior 
in bits. As we are to be here so long, it will be lovely to drop 
in quietly and look at the pictures and different chapels." 

They all agreed that this was the best plan, and when Bessie 
set herself, in the evening, to read the description in the guide- 
books, she found mentioned tombs of kings, and sceptres of mon- 
archs, and figures of saints which they had seen nothing of. 

As it happened, however, the time in Seville flew by so fast, 
and was so divided between sight-seeing and sweet repose upon 
their roof or in their convent-patio, that there were but one or two 
hurried visits to the Cathedral. 

Miss Lejeune found the ascent of the tower easy enough, even 
for her. The steps are very low and flat, so that it is like moving 
up an inclined plane, turning at each of the four corners of the 
square tower. From the windows of the gradual ascent, the but- 
tresses and light crenelations of the cathedral wall were seen in 
detail. At the top a wonderful view burst upon them. The 
crowded, narrow streets, and tiled roofs of Seville were at their 
feet. They could trace their way to the square near Serpent street, 
and recognize the location of their hotel by a great Churrigueresque 
church near it, which formed the attractive foreground of their view 
from the hotel roof. 



ANOTHER CATHLDKAL. 



169 




TORRE DEL ORO. 



The later archi- 
tecture of Spain, 
beginning with that 
of the sixteenth 
century, is gener- 
ally denounced as 
in the decline of 
art, an overloaded,, 
highly-colored style, 
combined with fan- 
tastic shapes and 
ornaments. To give - 
color, even on the 

u t s i d e of roofs, . 
domes and spires,, 
glazed tiles, called : 
azzilejos, of blue, red 
and yellow are free- 

1 y used, whose 
glancing surfaces- 
reflect the light like 
glass. Churriguera, 
an architect of the- 
seventeenth cent- 
ury, used this style 
and made it general, 
and his name, which • 
is given to it, is 
considered the syn- 
onym of bad taste. 
But in spite of the 
bizarre forms and; 
bright tints of it, . 
Bessie and Miss 
Lejeune both dared k 



170 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



to admire it with them, it was equivalent to praise when they 
exclaimed : 

" Churrigueresque ! " misapplying the name, very likely, to anything 
they liked of a florid style. 

They looked from the Giralda across the Guadalquivir to the 
'broad stretching country beyond, and below them, on its bank, they 
•saw the Torre del Oro, or Tower of Gold, so called from the orange 
azulejos which once gave it the appearance of a brazen or gilt tower. 







"£b>. v«-.- 




GARDENS OF THE ALCAZAR. 



It has, moreover, been used by Moors and Christians as a treasure 
house, and they were told that in the time of Columbus, the gold 
he brought from the New World was deposited here. 

They looked across the square and down upon the formal gardens 
of the Alcazar, which they were impatient to visit, and the long gallery 
running along one side, now decayed and impassable, but once the 
place of many gay and brilliant scenes. 

"Oh! let us go to the Alcazar to-morrow!" cried Bessie, and 
all the children longed to be running about in the stiff alleys set 



ANOTHER CATHEDRAL. 



17? 



with box and cypress-trees, with here and there a tall palm, which 
they saw below them. 

" But the picture gallery!" exclaimed Miss Lejeune ; "we must 
not leave Murillo any longer." 

"You saw Murillo enough, aunt Dut," said Tommy, " to-day in 
the Cathedral." 

" Only enough to make me thirst for more," said Miss Lejeune. 

"There is plenty of time," said Mr. Horner; "we might" — 
" divide," he was about to say, when all the great bells of the 
Giralda, close above their heads, began to ring at once with a tremen- 
dous clangor. They fled in haste, and the only question was, which 
should first reach the bottom. 




172 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XX. 

JUSTA AND RUFINA. 

DURING Roman rule, Seville was a magnificent and prosperous 
city, as the vestiges of many splendid monuments still show. 
Julius Caesar entered the city in August, 45 b. c. Seville was 
the centre of a sort of pagan worship, and the only city in the 
Western world where there were temples to Venus, whose effigy 
used to be borne through the city, in procession on the shoulders 
of the noblest ladies. As this imposing statue was one day being 
carried along the streets, two Christian sisters, Justa and Rufina, 
who were selling earthenware jugs, refused to do reverence to the 
idol as it passed ; upon which the bearers dropped it right in the 
middle of their pots and pans, and instantly determined upon the 
death of the girls. Thus they became martyrs, and the patron 
saints of Seville, and are so represented. Murillo has painted a 
charming picture of them, surrounded by their earthenware, and 
holding the Giralda between them. 

Afterwards the Goths made Seville their court and capital, 
until they gave this distinction to Toledo, as we have seen. After 
the battle of the Guadalete, and the rout of the Goths, Seville kept 
out the Moors during a month's siege, but yielded at last ; and 
Abdul-Azis, who ruled over it for some time, married the widow of 
Roderick. 

The family who held the splendid Caliphate of Cordova, con- 
trolled Seville until they fell a prey to the feuds which divided 
the powerful and alternately successful tribes of Almohades and 
Almoravides. Meanwhile Seville was prosperous, and, next to Cor- 
dova, the most important city in Spain. 



JUSTA AND RUFINA. 173 

The treason of rival Moorish races, and the petty jealousies of 
their rulers, were paving the way gradually for the Christians. King 
Ferdinand, the Saint, in 1247, at the head of the flower and nobility 
of Castile and Leon, laid siege to the city, and the Christians 
entered it, after fifteen months' resistance, in 1248. 

In the Royal Chapel of the Cathedral, the lower part of the 
altar is formed by a silver glazed receptacle containing the almost 
perfect body of Saint Ferdinand. It is displayed twice a year, with 
the ceremony of military mass, etc. The king is dressed in his royal 
robes, with the crown upon his head ; his hands are crossed upon 
his breast. Upon his right and left are the sword and sceptre 
which he bore. 

It is said that upon the usurpation of the Christians, a popula- 
tion of four hundred thousand Moors, Jews and Arabs abandoned 
the city. Some of these settled in the neighboring towns, but the 
greater number hastened to the new kingdom of Granada. 

By this time, the Spaniards, once but a little band driven by the 
Goths to the mountains, had grown to be a powerful and united 
nation. The separate provinces had either given over their mutual 
quarrels, or yielded to the superior force of the strongest among 
them. Leon and Castile were united under one head. Ferdinand 
the Third was lord of Spain from the Bay of Biscay to the Guadalquivir, 
and from Portugal to Valencia. At that time the Christian kings 
were at peace for the moment. Ferdinand had suppressed conspir- 
acies, and subdued all rivals to the throne, of whom the chief was 
his own father. The crusade against the Mohammedans was pub- 
lished by the archbishop, and the same indulgences granted to those 
who assumed the cross in Spain, as to those who visited the Holy 
Land. Toledo and Cordova first fell into the hands of the Christians, 
and then came the turn of Seville. 

This conquest was the last achievement of Ferdinand. He died 
in Seville four years after its surrender. He was a just and able 
ruler, and a valiant - soldier, but cruel and bigoted, like the rest of 
the kings of his time, setting fire with his own hands to the fagots 
for burning heretics. Nevertheless, it was probably for such acts, 



174 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH Sl'AlX, 




FOUNTAIN IN THK ALCAZAR. 



rather than for his pray- 
ers, fastings, and frequent 
disciplines, that he was 
canonized several centuries 
after by the Pope. 

Seville now became the 
court of the Christian 
kings. It was Alphonso, 
the son of Ferdinand, who 
gave to the city its badge 
which is still seen on 
many buildings, carved into 
the stone-work. The fig- 
ure in the centre rep- 
resents a hank or skein, 
called in Spanish madcja, 
so that the whole reads : 

no m'ha deja-do. 

which means, "she has 
not deserted me." King 
Don Pedro the Cruel, who 
held court in Seville about 
a century after Saint Fer- 
dinand, had left there 
many traditions of his 
bloody tyranny. From 
his accession to the throne 
at sixteen, one murder 
quickly followed another ; 
he killed every one who 
interfered with his pleas- 
ures, and shut up his queen 
in a fortress, where she 



JUST A AND RUFINA. 



175 



was poisoned, or killed, by his orders. This unfortunate queen was 
Blanche of Bourbon, of the house which has since furnished many 
kings to France, Her great-aunt had married half a century before, 
the sixth son of King Louis the Ninth of France. Fair Blanche 



■■MB 




MOORTSH ARCHES, ALCAZAR. 



was summoned from distant Bourbonnais to be the bride of the 
king, Don Pedro, Seville ; but he only married her for political 
reasons. He scarcely looked at her, and after forty-eight hours, he 



176 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



went away, and perhaps she never saw him again. He kept her 
shut up in a convent and in prison, and when she died, it was under 
great suspicion of poison or dagger. 

Such conduct brought him into difficulty. His cruel treatment 
of his queen, and of his half-brothers, caused revolt and insurrections, 
but he lived with his favorite Maria de Padilla in great splendor 
and luxury in the Alcazar until the time of his destruction came. 




LA SALA DKS EMBAJADORES, ALCAZAR. 

At last Don Enrique of Trastamara, his half-brother, returned sud- 
denly to Spain with a strong band of French adherents, and drove 
Pedro out of his kingdom. The general voice was in favor of 
Henry, and he took possession of the throne. After such cruelty 
to Queen Blanche, Don Pedro could not hope for aid from France, 
but Edward the Black Prince, who was then in Gascony, took up 
his cause. 

"Wasn't that strange!" exclaimed Bessie, when she was telling 
these things to the boys, whom she had succeeded in securing as 



JUSTA AND RUFINA. 177 

listeners. They were all sitting in a row on the roof of the Fonda 
de Europa, with their backs against a chimney, watching swallows 
and kites soaring about the rosy shaft of the Giralda, which stood 
out warm and dark against a glowing sunlight. 

" Our splendid bold Black Prince joining with that hateful mur- 
derous Don Pedro the Cruel!" 

"I know about the Black Prince," said Hubert, "he was English." 
" Of course," said Bessie loftily, " but he had great possessions 
in France, and if you English had kept up his prowess you would 
not have lost them all ! " 

Hubert looked as if he was sorry, but could not very well help 
it; but Tommy put in: 

■« Well, tell more about Don Pedro ; I rather like him." 
With the splendid army of the Black Prince to help him, Pedro 
totally defeated Enrique ; but when the Black Prince had gone off, 
Enrique returned and finally triumphed. Pedro was captured, and 
confronted with his brother ; a struggle ensued between them. 

Henry and King Pedro clasping, 

Hold in straining arms each other ; 
Tugging hard and closely grasping, 

Brother proves his strength with brother. 

All the knights held back and watched the struggle, till one of 
Enrique's followers, seeing his master overthrown, seized Pedro by 
the leg, which gave his opponent the upper hand, and he stabbed 
the king to the heart. 

This is described by Froissart, and also in the ballad just quoted, 
which was translated by Sir Walter Scott for Lockhart's Spanish 
ballads. 

No one was left to lament King Pedro but his once proud favorite, 
Maria de Padilla. 

The utter coldness of neglect that haughty spirit stings, 

As if a thousand fiends were there, with all their flapping wings. 

She wraps the veil about her head, as if t'were all a dream, 

The love, the murder and the wrath, and that rebellious scream. 



178 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

For still there's shouting on the plain, and spurring far and nigh, 
"God save the King — amen ! amen ! — King Henry ! " is the cry, 
While Pedro all alone is left upon his bloody bier, 
Not one remains to cry to God, " Our Lord lies murdered here ! " 

The next day, in consequence of Bessie's tales from Froissart, 
and quotations from the Spanish ballads, the boys were in a great 
hurry to visit the Alcazar. They made an early start after coffee, 
to avail themselves of the freshness of the morning. 

It is a portion of a Moorish palace, and its style is purely 
Moorish, with beautiful horseshoe arches, and surfaces adorned with 
arabesque work. The grand facades glitter with gold and vivid colors, 
and the pillars are of precious marbles. Much of this lovely work 
had been almost concealed by whitewash, but this has recently been 
taken off, and the Alcazar repaired, at the expense of the Duke of 
Montpensier. 

In the splendid Hall of Ambassadors, there is a series of portraits 
of the kings of Spain from Chindasvinthus to Philip the Third. 
The next room is the one where Pedro caused another half-brother, 
Don Fadrique, who had been invited by him to come to a tourna- 
ment, to be murdered. Stains of blood on the marble pavement 
are still shown to the traveller, but the Homers had learned not 
to shudder at such marks, not likely to be anything but iron-rust. 
But they did shudder at the story, and at the strange poem, one 
of Lockhart's Spanish ballads, which makes the unfortunate Fadrique 
in the beginning tell his own story, until the order for his execu- 
tion is pronounced, when the sequel is given in another voice. 

The party after seeing all the rooms of the palace, scattered them- 
selves about the stiff, but charming, alleys of the large gar- 
den, which gave them infinite pleasure. Pomegranates, roses and 
jasmine were all in blossom, hedges of box and ivy of great size 
testified to their long growth, as well as the large palms and yew- 
trees. Stiff rows of myrtles and orange-trees stood in green boxes 
along the walks, and made pretty vistas, adorned with trickling 
fountains. Miss Lejeune was delighted, and promised herself and the 
girls to spend many a morning there. 



ITALICA. 1 : ^ 



CHAPTER XXI. 

ITALICA. 

FOR the afternoon, Juan, the guide, proposed a drive, and as 
no one was tired but Fanny, the plan was approved, and 
Fanny was quite willing to be left behind with Nana. The cool 
and pleasant patio always recommended itself to the nurse as a 
suitable spot for looking after her charge, and there the grave, 
industrious French woman, sat willingly for hours, sewing inter- 
minably, knitting or darning stockings, while the contented baby, 
still so-called, played by her side. The children often brought home 
amusing toys and trifles for the child, who, indeed, had been so accus- 
tomed to Nana's society from her birth, that she required no other. 
Fanny now proposed, however, to help Nana amuse the baby, and 
Nana announced that she had a letter to write, a serious undertaking 
with her limited knowledge of writing and spelling. 

The rest started off in the best of spirits, in an open carriage 
rather crowded, to be sure, for Juan was on the box with the driver; 
but it was large, and held very well Bessie, wedged between the two' 
boys on the back seat, while Miss Lejeune and Mr. Horner occu- 
pied the places of honor. 

It is difficult to drive through the narrow streets of Seville, for 
they are wide enough only for one set of wheels between wall and 
wall, with no allowance of sidewalk for foot-passengers; an arrow 
at every corner shows in which direction carriages may pass through 
each street, a direction always so faithfully obeyed that no one knows 
what would happen if it were not followed ; so that if two carriages 
should meet face to face " one of them would have to drive over 
the top of the other," said Bessie. 



180 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 

"They would both have to turn round," said Hubert. 

" But they could not turn round, either of them," objected Tommy. 
"What would they do, Juan?" he continued, applying to the guide 
on the box. 

"It never happened," replied Juan, and with this they had to be 
satisfied. 

They went first to see a private house belonging to a great duke, 
called the Casa de Pilatos, or House of Pilate, because it is said 
to have been built in imitation of Pilate's house in Jerusalem, by 
the Marquis of Tarifa, who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land 
in 1578, and erected this palace on his return. The Homers 
thought there was no resemblance in the rich Moorish building to 
the House of Pilate, so-called, now standing, which they had seen 
in Jerusalem ; but this did not prevent them from admiring the one 
before them. 

Beyond the Guadalquivir, a pleasant drive along its banks, and 
by a palm grove belonging to the ancient Abbey of Santo Ponce, 
they came to the only vestige now left of Italica, a ruined amphi- 
theatre, in the ancient city, founded by Scipio Africanus, as a home 
and resting place for his soldiers wearied after the campaign against 
the Carthaginian's. Three Roman Emperors were born there, Trajan, 
Adrian, and Theodosius. Its palaces, aqueducts and circus were mag- 
nificent. The palace of Trajan was partly preserved until 1755, 
when an earthquake destroyed their last traces. Coins are still 
often dug up, and a beautiful pavement is known to have been 
taken up and preserved by a poor monk less than one hundred 
years ago, but no one knows now what has become of it. 

Very little is left of the amphitheatre but the graded walls which 
mark its vast dimensions ; but Hubert was more excited over it than 
anything else he had seen, as he was familiar with the arena at 
Nismes, and he liked to point out to the others how it differs, 
and how it must have looked before the massive sides were shaken 
by earthquakes and before sand and weeds had encroached upon its 
enclosure. As the Homers had never been in Rome, they had never 
seen the Coliseum there, which is built on the same principle ; but 



' ' .'/ ■; — 




ITALICA. 1S3 

every one is familiar with its form and plan by seeing photographs 
and reading descriptions. The rooms where the gladiators used to 
prepare themselves for combat, and the dens which contained the 
wild beasts, have been discovered only lately. 

The drive through the bright sunny air was delightful as the 
party returned to Seville. They were in the best of spirits, for 
they had that day received a budget of letters, which had been sent 
first to Madrid, so that there had been a delay of a day or two 
before they reached Seville. 

Mrs. Horner and Mary wrote glowing accounts of their retreat 
in the Pyrenees. Philip, who, it had been feared, might find it dull, 
was going up all the mountain peaks in the neighborhood, either 
on foot, or on the good little donkeys which were always ready to 
be hired. Mary was sketching daily, and every day growing visibly 
stronger, and Mrs. Horner's energies were absorbed by an immense 
affghan she had begun to knit of Barege wool, a staple of the country, 
which is very soft and pretty. They had received long letters 
from Mr. Hervey before he sailed from America on the first of May, 

"I must write Mary a long letter wholly about the pictures," said 
Miss Augusta; " I have only just hinted at those we have seen in the 
different cathedrals ; but as soon as we have been to the gallery here, 
I shall give her a full account of it. I do wish she could see it 
with us ! " 

" So do I," said Mr. Horner ; " but I think her rosy cheeks and 
good appetite are much better for her than a feast of Spanish painting." 

"What sort of a boy is Philip?" asked Hubert. "Is he like you, 
Tommy ?" 

" He is bigger than I am," said Tommy, " and in some respects 
superior. I don't know whether you would like him better or not." 

Hubert too had a brief letter from his father, and one enclosed 
in it from his mother, quite old as to date by the time he received 
it, as it had been sent to Gibraltar in full faith that the children 
would have reached there. It was a short, but sweet, affectionate 
letter, written with the feeble hand of an invalid. Nana shook her 
head as she looked at it. 



184 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THKOUGH SPAIN. 




PALACE OF THE DUKE DE MONTPENSIER. 



" P auvre madam*" 
said she; " elle est trh 
malade" 

The driver brought 
his party back to the 
hotel through the gay 
Corso de las Delicias, 
wide and modern, like 
the Prado at Madrid, 
and they passed the en- 
trance of the palace of 
the duke de Montpensier, 
which, with its gallery of 
pictures and beautiful 
gardens they did not 
have time to see that day, 
They came back to it, 
however, for a long ex- 
amination before they 
left Seville. 

The Duke de Mont- 
pensier is the uncle of 
the present king , that 
is, he married the sister 
of Isabella, the deposed 
queen. Also the sweet 
daughter of the duke, 
Mercedes, the first wife 
of this king, Alphonso, 
was the pretty young 
queen of whom the peo- 
ple were so proud, that 
they grieved sincerely 
at her early death. 

The palace, called San 



ITALIC A. 187 

Telmo, is very handsome, and is surrounded by spacious gardens full 
of orange-trees, palms and shrubs, pines, and many rare plants, very 
charming to wander in. Long alleys of tall sycamores were crossed 
by others of pointed cypress, underneath which, and everywhere, 
were lovely flowers, roses, jasmine, and all early summer things. 
White peacocks trailed their dainty feathers upon the hard sand 
of the walks ; they looked like fine ladies with white satin trains. 
There was no color, such as we commonly call " peacock * color," 
anywhere upon them ; but the eyes of the feathers were indicated 
by a different tint of white. There was a real stork sitting on 
his nest on top of a pillar, set up on purpose for him, apparently. 

The children were delighted with this immense garden ; they 
passed a whole morning there, Nana sitting in a Moorish sum- 
mer house, on an island in a lake, while Miss Lejeune sat by her 
side sketching. Nightingales filled the air with their sweet notes, 
which all the Homers were too light hearted to consider melan- 
choly. The nightingale seems a cheerful bird when he is jug-jug- 
ing away in the general feathered chorus on a sunny noon, in 
broad sunshine. His note really sounds not in the least like "jug- 
jug," being sweet and melodious as possible ; yet somehow these 
words, always used to describe it, seem to do so. With the usual 
open hospitality of personages in Europe, the duke allows strangers 
to visit the inside of the palace. The rooms are handsome, and in 
them are to be seen the pictures of the Montpensier collection 
which came to America some years ago. 

Miss Lejeune looked at these with great interest, remembering 
that they had not pleased the general taste of those who saw them 
in Boston where they were shown, and that she herself had found 
them severe and unattractive in subject. Now that she had seen 
a good many Spanish pictures, and moreover, many fine master- 
pieces elsewhere in Europe, she was glad to modify her opinion. 
She thoroughly enjoyed the Piedad by Morales, and four subjects 
in the life of Christ, by Zurbaran. The pictures are well hung in 
rooms whose light and decorative surroundings are in perfect har- 
mony with them. However, Mr. Horner and Miss Lejeune had 



188 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



a good laugh at the inconsistency of human nature, which allows 
itself to be so differently impressed at different times, and under 
different influences. 

" Consistency is a poor virtue," Miss Lejeune remarked. " I love 
to find that I can enjoy those pictures now so much more than 
before." 

" Consistency should not, certainly, be allowed to interfere with 
progress,*' remarked Mr. Horner. 

The weather was growing decidedly warm ; every day as the 
Homers came home from excursions, they found it agreeable to 
stop at a cooling drinks shop, which stood in the plaza near 
the end of their narrow Serpent street. Chairs were always offered 
them, where they sat, while a small child, who could hardly reach 
to the counter, prepared the horchata, or squeezed the limon, the 
mild beverage beloved of the Spanish. 



jn'^ *r* t 




MURILLO. 189 



CHAPTER XXII. 



MURILLO. 



ALL of one morning was spent in the picture gallery by the 
older portion of the party, while the boys and Fanny went 
back to the Alcazar gardens under the protection of Juan. 

The gallery is small, consisting only of one long room or hall 
in a building, formerly a church and convent. It is especially de- 
voted to Murillos ; and here first may Murillo be studied to advan- 
tage. Side by side his beautiful and world-renowned Madonnas 
hang, in number, and near them, pictures on other subjects by 
him, which have never been copied or produced elsewhere. Photo- 
graphs of them are to be bought in Seville and Madrid, but they 
are as yet very little known, except to Spanish travellers, and stud- 
ents of Spanish art. Murillo is the pride and the true head of 
the Seville school of painting ; he shares with Velasquez the high- 
est honors of Spanish art. He was born in Seville, probably in 
1618, on the first of January, nearly twenty years after Velasquez. 
As he inclined early towards painting, he was put in the hands 
of Juan del Castillo, a painter still celebrated for some fine por- 
traits, and for being the teacher of masters greater than himself. 

When Murillo was twenty-four years old, a fellow artist returned 
from London bringing with him a style of painting learned from 
Van Dyck. Murillo, on seeing this, much desired to go to England; 
but Van Dyck died about that time ; he would have liked to study 
in Italy, but money was wanting, even for the shorter journey to 
Madrid. The latter place he attained to, by painting and selling 
a number of devotional pictures. Arrived at the capital, he pre- 
sented himself to Velasquez who received him with great friend- 



190 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



ship. He was thus able to study and copy the great works of 
Titian, Rubens, and the rest belonging to the royal galleries. 
When he returned later to Seville, all wondered at his skill, and 




MURILLO. 



from that time forward his reputation increased until his death. 
In 1674 he finished eight great pictures for the church called La 
Caridad, which contains a fine collection of his works. 

The coloring of his pictures is extremely soft and lovely, har- 
monizing with the same expression in the faces of his Madonnas, 
and the beautiful little cherubs he delights to paint. 



MURILLO. 191 

He died in April, 1662, after falling from a ladder where he 
was painting the Marriage of St. Catherine, in a church in Cadiz. 
He was not killed, but fatally hurt, and was carried back to 
Seville to die. 

Bessie found she liked the Murillos much ; had she not, she 
would have been difficult to please, there is so much variety in 
the grouping of the personages he represents, and such pretty 
types of children, fine ones of old men, etc. The Virgin of the 
Napkin is so called because it is said to have been painted by 
Murillo on a dinner napkin, as a gift to the cook at the convent 
at Cadiz, when Murillo was at work there. In spite of her fond- 
ness for legends and her faith in the marvellous, Bessie did not 
believe that they had napkins as big as that picture at the 
Capuchinos, a couple of centuries ago. 

Seville honors the memory of her great master, and there is a 
monument to him before the Museum which contains the picture 
gallery. 

Miss Lejeune found time to describe the Murillo pictures to 
Mary in a long letter which she said the rest could skip if they 
felt inclined. It also dwelt on the delights and difficulties of water- 
color sketching in an atmosphere so brilliant and so different from 
our own. Miss Lejeune was an enthusiast for art and sketching, 
although she despised the results of her own efforts. She never 
expected any praise for her sketches, and rather preferred not to 
have them seen, although she was good-natured about showing 
them. 

Mary, on the other hand, was likely to become a proficient in 
the pretty art. She wrote of lessons that she was taking of an 
excellent teacher who happened to be staying at their hotel in 
Luz ; he painted in a wet, broad style that she especially liked, 
and was not unwilling to pick up a chance scholar, so apt as 
Mary proved herself. 

One day Juan took the children through an old quarter of the 
town, where a fair was going on ; everything under the sun 
set forth for sale on little tables in the middle of the streets — 



192 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

pottery, brass work, cheap handkerchiefs, stockings, a collection gay 
in color, and arranged not only to show the best effect, but also 
to tempt the purchaser. 

Tommy bought a handful of ripe mulberries for Fanny, which 
looked to the others a little repulsive, as they were jammed, 
though juicy ; the only thing at hand to put them in was a 
chance piece of torn newspaper Passing through the market, they 
saw lovely ripe figs. The man that owned them was sound asleep 
stretched at full length behind his counter, and Juan had to poke 
him with his umbrella to rouse him to a bargain. 

Juan was a Spaniard, but dressed to resemble an Englishman, in 
a closely buttoned pepper and salt coat, with trousers to match. 
He always carried an umbrella, and invariably smoked a cigar- 
ette. His voice was low, and his English was distinct and 
grammatical, with some limitations, for his knowledge went no 
farther than the range of his duties as valet de place; but he 
was honest and intelligent, and always kind to the children, who 
became very fond of him, and amused him much by their views 
of things Andalusian. 

They went one night to a theatre, open, though it was summer ; 
not the most splendid of Seville, but a bare, barn-like place, 
like a town hall in a country town. Every one was smoking 
cigarettes. A perro came and smelt of Bessie, and then sat down 
on a seat in front of her for the performance. There was first 
a little play of modern life, and then a pretty ballet, with good 
dancing and suitable dresses, the orchestra playing light and 
charming dance music, of which the movement and melody become 
very dear to travellers. 

The Homers had a tiresome time finding, or rather losing, their 
way back to the hotel, for Juan was not with them. They 
thought they knew it, and went round and round, expecting each 
corner would lead them to Serpent street, until their feet were very 
tired with walking upon the round stones. At last they reached a 
square which they knew to be their square, with the opening to 
their little street just opposite to the direction where they had 



MURILLO. 



193 



expected it to be. The next day, tracing as well as they could 
their course on the map, it seemed as if they had carefully 
avoided Calle de Sierpes at every turn. 

This was somewhat mortifying, for they had been there ten days 
when it happened, and felt quite at home there. They were all 
growing very fond of Seville, and it was hard to think of going 
away. They were now beginning to pick up a little Spanish, and 
Bessie, especially, could make herself understood in shops and in 
the street. 

Mr. Horner was the first to put into words the general feeling 
that the party must be moving on. 

" I told them at the banker's in Madrid, to forward our letters 




NUNS AT PRAYERS. 



to Seville only a week," said he one morning. " So we must not 
expect any more here. There may be a budget at Granada now, 
I think." 

" So soon ! " exclaimed, Bessie. " Why, papa, it is only a minute 
since we came." 

"Just a week," said her father; "ana ten days since we left 
Madrid." 



194 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 

" Oh, dear ! " she replied ; " and every place we have been to 
here we want to see over again." 

She was just then writing a long letter to Philip, and Miss 
Lejeune and Mr. Horner were engaged in the same way, all 
sitting at their large round table, at little oases which each had 
made by piling up or pushing away the things that were heaped 
upon it. 

" I have been talking with Juan about our course," resumed 
Mr. Horner ; " he says the steamers are excellent from Cadiz to 
Malaga ; indeed, that we could keep on, and go by sea all the 
way up the coast of Spain ; but of course we do not care to do 
that. I wish we might see Palos, and something more of the 
traces of Columbus." 

They had, of course, not failed to think of the discoverer of 
America in Seville, and where there are many things to recall him. 
In the pavement of the Cathedral is a marble slab bearing an 
inscription to the memory of the second son of Columbus, a man 
of learning, who bequeathed his library, called la Colombina, to the 
chapter, and his ashes to the Cathedral. On the slab is written : 

A CASTILLA Y A LEON. 
MUNDO NUEVO DIO COLON. 

" To Leon and Castille Columbus gave a New World." 

It was the great glory of the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, 
that under their auspices America was discovered ; the queen 
especially undertook the enterprise when it had been declined by 
others, and served Columbus in the most acceptable manner by 
supplying him with ample resources. 

" Shall we say day after to-morrow, Augusta ? " continued Mr. 
Horner. 

" So soon ! " she said with a sigh looking round the room 
which, with all its paraphernalia of pleasant living, looked too 
attractive to leave. " Yes. I suppose so ; do you Know what time 
we start ? " 



MURILLO. 



196 



"At noon, Juan says. That is a good thing; and there is no 
night travel this time." 

M Not till we arc upon your favorite steamer," said Miss Lejeune, 
putting down her pen, and rising. 

Mr. Horner shuddered. He did not share the fondness of some 
of his family for aquatic excursions. 

"But, aunt Dut, you needn't put on your hat now!" remon- 
strated Bessie. 

" No, but I want to see Nana about the washing. I think the 
senoras took some this morning, and they must be told to bring 
it back in good time." 

So the Seville season came to an end. Their happy establish- 
ment was broken up, and they set off for Cadiz one bright morn- 
ing after almuerzo. 




196 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

CADIZ. 

MISS LEJEUNE and Bessie were just alike in one respect, 
which made them, on the whole, excellent travellers. They 
always were very unwilling to leave the place they were in, and 
went about packing and breaking up with gloomy energy ; but 
once in the train, their spirits rose, all regret was cast aside, and 
they found it delightful to be moving again. No fatigue disheart- 
ened either of them, and they both regarded the arrival at a new 
hotel as one of the chief delights of travel. 

In this they differed from Mrs. Horner and Mary, who rather 
dreaded the worry of being established in new rooms. The mamma 
especially always feared beforehand there was going to be a smell, 
or that the bed would be hard, or that the view would not be 
satisfactory. She concealed these fears, but was not quite happy 
until a new day in a new place proved that they had been unwar- 
ranted. The two sanguine ones, Bessie and Miss Augusta, had it 
their own way in Spain ; for papa's two anxieties, one about the 
baggage, which always came out all right, and the other the boys, 
who always turned up in time, were of no account. 

Juan escorted them to the station, and there they parted from 
him with much regret, for he had been very useful, and had 
become a valued friend ; but they felt now quite capable of - rely- 
ing upon their own resources. 

They were seated in the train by two o'clock p. m., but it did 
not start until four, after the usual Spanish fashion, and thus it 
was late before they arrived at Cadiz, and they approached the 
city in the dim faded lights of after sunset, over a long, very 
long causeway, with water on each side. Cadiz has been compared 



CADIZ. 



197 



to a guitar, connected with the rest of the world by the handle. 
The Homers rejoiced at seeing the sea after many weeks, and the 
salt fresh air of the Atlantic was delightful to them. 

Cadiz is a walled town ; the railway station outside. They drove 
through an arched gateway, guarded as usual, by the inevitable pair 
of alguazils, and, before moving on, had to undergo a parley with 
custom-house officials ; nothing was examined, however, and they 
were free to pass on 
to their hotel, through 
straight, long streets, 
which appeared wide 
and modern, after 
sinuous Seville. 

"Just like Phila- 
delphia ! " declared 
Bessie, who was old 
enough to be taken 
to the Centennial 
there, in 1876. 

Cadiz, however, is 
not much like Phil- 
adelphia. Their hotel 
was on a pretty 
square, planted with 
trees, and in the 
light of the street 
lamps people were flitting about, strolling in groups, or chatting 
on benches, for the night was soft and warm. 

Miss Lejeune leaned from her balcony and enjoyed the novelty 
of the scene, and the tinkling sounds which rose from guitars. 
After the shut-in, close walks of Seville, the sense of space was 
very agreeable. She looked up at the bright dark sky, full of stars. 

The rest of the party were too tired for sentimentalizing. Fanny 
was put to bed at once ; the others waited for dinner to be ready, 
which deserved rather the name of supper, for it was after nine 




ALGUAZILS- 



198 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

before it was served, and then they went directly to bed, defying 
digestion, for there was to be an early start in the morning, the 
steamer which they were to take, being advertised for six o'clock. 

So not much after dawn the sleepy set were roused, and soon 
found themselves on the stone pier, bargaining, through the medium 
of an interpreter from the hotel, for a row boat to take them out 
into the bay. 

"I am so glad mamma is not here!" said Bessie, as they set- 
tled themselves into a large boat with ample accommodations. 

" This boat is solid enough to please her," said Mr. Horner. 

"It looks," said Miss Lejeune, " as if it were made of the original 
beams left over from the ark." 

Two strong sailors, with sashes round their waists, and paniielas 
tied about their heads, pulled the heavy boat over the water with 
swift strokes. 

"Imagine Columbus," exclaimed Miss Augusta, "being brought in 
from his caravel !" 

" His caravel was not so much larger than this craft, I suppose," 
said Mr. Horner. 

The steamer was lying far off from the town, and in the half- 
hour's pull to reach it, they had a pretty view of the receding 
city, very white in the morning light, rising from the water with 
graceful domes and spires. 

This was all they saw of Cadiz, once the most famous seaport 
of the world, under the Romans ; less important in the hands of 
the Goths, and afterwards of the Moors, its prosperity rose again 
with the discovery of America, for it shared with Seville the de- 
posits of gold and merchandize from the new country. This made 
it a frequent point of attack from pirates and princes coveting its 
treasures ; and it has repeatedly been plundered and almost destroyed. 
Its wealth and commerce were great, even to the end of the last 
century. French invasion and civil war have reduced its import- 
ance, and it is now less interesting a place for tourists than many 
other places, because its monuments and works of art are fewer. 
It contains, however, in the Church of the Capuchins, the fatal pict- 



CADIZ. 201 

ture which caused the death of Murillo. It is just as he left it ; 
not quite finished. Cadiz, like Seville, is famous for the beauty of, 
its women. 

The Cristoforo Colon was a large clean steamer, comfortably arranged. 
As there were but few passengers, the Homers had the pleasant 
deck pretty much to themselves, and the boys were soon running 
all over the ship, exploring its mysteries. Miss Lejeune fell into 
conversation with an elderly gentleman who spoke French so flu- 
ently, and had such old-fashioned elegance of manner, that she 
guessed him to be a Frenchman. He had travelled much in Spain, 
and knew all about the pictures, and talked very well about art. 

By and by when the boys had come back, the old amateur rose 
and soon left her side, and Hubert took his place. 
Tommy carried Bessie off to see the live stock. Fanny 
was in the cabin with Nana and the baby, and Mr. 
Horner was smoking and reading somewhere by him- 
self. 

Hubert was in a state of excitement natural enough 

, i t ,, i r l • • tt OLD AMATEUR. 

as he approached the end ot his journey. He was 

restless, but at the same time he wanted to be quiet, and did 

not really care for the sights of the ship, which amused Tommy. 

Miss Augusta took his hand and held it a little while, leading 
him to talk about home and his mother, and she now learned 
more of these matters than at any previous time. 

" You cannot think how lovely mamma is," said he in a low 
tone ; " and her voice is so gentle and dear." His eyes filled with 
tears as he went on telling how sweet and patient she was, and 
how delicate. 

" I have her photograph!" he exclaimed, "and I never showed 
it to you. Tommy has seen it. I look at it every evening just 
before I go to sleep." 

He brought the little picture up to her. Miss Augusta saw a 
very pale wan face, with large eyes looking forth from it, a sweet 
expression, and graceful shoulders and pretty hair drawn back from 
the forehead. She sighed as she looked ; she could not help it. 




202 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



"I know, I know!" cried Hubert; "you think mamma is very 
ill. But we thought going home would cure her. To England, I 
mean, — to grandmamma's. That was taken in London to send to 
papa. But mamma wanted to come back, and so we started, but 
she could not come any farther than Bordeaux, and then they 
said — they said " — 

He broke down ; he could go no further. Miss Lejeune under- 
stood the rest. 




CADIZ FROM THE SEA. 

" Do not try to tell me, dear boy. I know. Has she always 
been an invalid?" 

"Ever since baby was born. Did you know baby was born in 
India?" he asked, his face brightening with the change of idea 
\and the thought that Miss Lejeune would be interested. 

" Papa was in India before he was stationed at Gibraltar," he went 
on, " and mamma went there with him ; but we did not go. Fanny 
and I stayed at grandmamma's. It was ever so long ago that 



CADIZ. 2U3 

they went. I scarcely remember about it. And then I remember 
when they came home. It was so funny to know papa and mamma; 
and papa was very different then. It is only lately that he has 
grown so gloomy" — 

He stopped short. Probably he was thinking, as Miss Augusta 
was, that it was anxiety about his wife that had changed him. 

" Poor Colonel Vaughan ! " she murmured to herself. 

" Poor papa ! " said Hubert, " he has lots of trouble. Mamma's 
sister died only a year or two ago, and she was just the same as 
papa's own sister." 

The tears were coming again. Miss Lejeune was beginning to 
feel that she must not let him dwell longer on these sad themes, 
when the other children came breathlessly up, crying, " Come and 
see Africa; it is just ahead!" The whole party assembled at the 
very most forward part of the ship, and there, to be sure, were the 
blue mountains of Tarifa, and the shore of another continent. 
They stood there watching the land on each side of them, for 
some time. In one place the width is but twelve miles. 

It is a narrow strait, 
I see the blue hills over, 

sang Bessie. 

" Well, Tommy/' exclaimed Miss Lejeune ; " only think of our 
being together a second time sailing through the Straits of 
Gibraltar ! " 



204 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



THE NARROW STRAIT. 



IN fact, Tommy felt important on account of his previous passage 
of the strait, and did the honors not only to his own party, 
but to the group generally, pointing out the fort and lighthouse of 
Tarifa close at hand, and distant Tangier across the water. 

Gradually moving westward, they entered into stiller waters, and 
before them loomed up, really majestic and grand, and bristling 
with cannon, the great rock on which proudly waves the flag 
of England. 

Hubert now began to feel at home, and could point out to 
Tommy many objects which had not come to that young gentle- 
man's knowledge on his short visit of the year before. 

Letters and a telegram had been sent to inform Colonel 
Vaughan of the approach of his family, and they were full of 
excitement at the thought of meeting him. Fanny clung to Nana's 
hand. Hubert stood by Mr. Horner, trying to think of some 
proper way to express his sense of the kindness he had received. 

"All right, my boy," said Mr. Horner; "you have behaved 
very well, and it has been a great pleasure to us all to have you 
with us." 

He was himself a little anxious, and indeed a little curious to 
see the father of these children with whom he had so unexpectedly 
come into such close relations. 

There are no children who need to be told that Gibraltar is an 
English possession, and that the English have held it fast in spite 
of every effort to regain it by Spain, who naturally begrudges it 
to a foreign power. It has always been a bone of contention, and 



THE NARROW STRAIT. 205 

between the Moors and Spaniards, had sustained eleven sieges 
before the time when, in the course of the war for the Spanish 
Succession, it was seized by Sir George Rooke, July 24, 1704, who 
took possession of it in the name of Queen Anne. 

In June, 1780, a desperate and skilful attempt was made by 
the united land and sea forces of France and Spain to destroy 
the little English squadron which lay in the harbor. Six great 
fireships, laden with combustibles, and connected with iron chains, 
were drawn up in the form of a crescent, floated, in the middle of 
a dark night, and with a favorable wind, into the bay, and steered 
against the ships in the New Mole, while three others were 
directed against other points. Behind them came a long line of 
row boats and galleys filled with armed men, and these in turn 
were supported by the heavy ships of the Spanish fleet. The first 
stage of the enterprise was completely successful, and it was only 
at one o'clock in the morning that the British sailors became 
aware, by the sudden glare and explosions, of the danger that 
was bearing down upon them. With great quickness, daring, and 
presence of mind, they sprang into their boats, grappled with 
the burning fireships, towed them clear of the English vessels, and 
thus not only baffled the design of the enemy, but obtained in 
the hulks of the captured ships a supply of fuel for which 
the garrison had urgent need. 

The siege was brought to a close only by the general pacification 
which occurred in 1783. Since then Gibraltar has been left undis- 
turbed in the hands of the English ; and it is essentially an 
English town. A garrison is established there, and martial law 
prevails, the whole population, both civil and military, being sub- 
jected to stringent rules. The gates are shut at sunset, and a 
gun is fired morning and evening. 

When first seen from the sea, the great rock, one thousand four 
hundred and thirty feet high, seems to rise from under the 
waves, for the land about it is so low that it appears to have no 
connection with it. It looks like a lion asleep, with its huge head 
turned towards Africa. 



206 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUCxH SPAIX. 



The Cristoforo Colon came to a full stop outside of Algeciras, 
and small boats were lowered, and others seen putting forth from 
that small town, which is a straggling little place on the side of 
the smooth bay opposite Gibraltar. 

The Homers were not going to stay at Gibraltar. Two of the 
party had seen the place, and Miss Lejeune, who was one of 
them, advised going on to Malaga in the same steamer, to which 




THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR. 



Bessie and her father readily agreed. The steamer was to stay 
several hours at her moorings, and the best thing for the Vaughans 
to do seemed to be waiting until they should be sent for. 

And there was not long to wait, for soon a boat approached the 
side, rowed by swarthy Spaniards, and bringing a tall gentleman, 
looking about fifty years old, with a military bearing, and a grave 
countenance. 

Alas ! as he came towards them, and they all knew he must be 
Colonel Vaughan, Miss Lejeune saw at a glance, that his hat was 



A NARROW STRAIT. 207 

surrounded by black crape. Perhaps Hubert also saw this ; perhaps 
he divined what had happened ; for as he darted forward to meet 
his father, his only word was : 

" Mamma ? " 

There was no way to soften the blow. Colonel Vaughan bent 
down towards his son, and said in a low tone : 

" My dear boy, she is dead. The news came yesterday." 

Nana was the only one who began to sob. Miss Lejeune led 
Bessie and Tommy away, and Mr. Horner withdrew also, to leave 
the little family alone with their grief. 

"I cannot bear it-!" cried Bessie. "Aunt Dut, it is terrible." 

" Poor Hubert, poor fellow ! " said Miss Lejeune, drying her 
eyes. 

They all felt keenly for the Vaughans. All had feared from the 
accounts of the mother's health, that she could not live ; but so 
soon ! they had not anticipated hearing the sad message while they 
were still together. 

"Only yesterday!" said Mr. Horner. "Perhaps while we were 
so merry coming from Seville." 

After a suitable interval, Mr. Horner rejoined the group, and 
now Colonel Vaughan, with a strong grasp of the hand, thanked 
him warmly for his kindness to his children. 

" I fear I have not expressed myself well in writing," he said. 
"In fact, I have been almost distracted by my dread — by my 
knowledge, indeed — of what was to come. I was shocked to learn 
that the children had left their mother. It was unwise. She might 
have had the comfort of them, and they" — He could not 
finish his sentence. Miss Lejeune approached, and without any 
introduction, said a few words of warm sympathy. 

"Papa," said Hubert, "this is Tommy, and this is Bessie 
Horner." 

His father shook hands with both, but Miss Lejeune could not 
but observe that he took hardly any notice of them. 

" Poor man ! " she thought ; " I dare say he has not given a 
thought to our party, or wondered once what constituted it. How 



208 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



severely we judged him ; and yet one cannot blame him now." 

Colonel Vaughan, almost as if he had become aware of what 

was passing in her mind, made an effort to express his gratitude, 

and some interest in the late adventures of his children. 










ROMAN BRIDGE, RONDA. 



" I am glad the poor things have had the pleasure of being 
with you. I am sure they have enjoyed it." 

"O, papa, we have!" exclaimed Hubert, his face lighting up. 
"You cannot imagine what dear, lovely people they are, and how 
kind they have been ! " 



THE NARROW STRAIT. 



209 



He looked round at them all in trim, as if wondering what he 
should do without these new companions who had become already 
such old friends. 

" I fear that my children have given you some trouble, 
madam," went on Colonel Vaughan. 

Miss Lejeune assured him that, on the contrary, Nana had made 
the care very light for the rest of them, and then, to cut short 
these interchanges of compliment, she looked about for Nana. They 
all saw, then, how the nurse had with- 
drawn to a seat apart, and was cry- 
ing bitterly with her face in her hands. 
Fanny, looking pitiful and bewildered, 
was holding close to the baby, the 
only one of the group unconscious of 
its loss. 

"I think we had best be going," 
said Colonel Vaughan. "We need 
not detain you longer." 

In a short time the parting was 
over. It was a painful one on all 
sides. The Vaughans were packed 
into the small boat, and pulled towards 
the shore, while the Homers stood 
watching them from the deck of the 
steamer, waving handkerchiefs damp 
with tears. Miss Lejeune was in 
no mood for sketching. She disappeared below to the ladies' cabin, 
and it is believed surrendered herself to a good cry. 

Before dark the steamer was unloaded and reloaded, her anchor 
up, and steam, and they were off again, gliding by the immense 
rock, which stood out in superb relief against a glowing evening 
sky. After dinner, the small, sad party of Homers gathered close 
together on deck, for it was cold, and tucked themselves tightly 
about with wraps and rugs. 

As the steamer swept along, new aspects of the rock unfolded 




SAFETY BOAT. 



210 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

themselves, always dark, against the rich background. They could 
half make out the forms of caves and openings in the base of 
the cliff, and on top, the flag-staff stood out a fine line against 
the glow. 

The solemn beauty of the evening, and the sad experience of 
the day, made it a memorable occasion which often came back to 
them. They talked much of Hubert, and Miss Lejeune told them 
all he had said of his mother ; and they spoke gently and thought- 
fully about her death, and of the sweet, strong influence the 
memory of his mother would have upon the boy, to make him 
honest, and brave, and true, all his life. Tommy was silent through- 
out. His heart was full of sorrow. 

It was much later than his usual bed-time when they all with- 
drew together for the night. For some reason, there were no 
separate staterooms to be had, and Bessie and Miss Lejeune there- 
fore shared the general ladies' cabin, with a Spanish lady who had 
a wonderful coiffure, in which she lay down that night and rose 
the next morning. 

Just as he was going to sleep, Mr. Horner was roused by 
Tommy's voice, in a berth above him. 

"Papa!" 

" Well ! " 

" You did not see the monkeys ! " 

■"You are another," growled his parent; "go to sleep." 

Hubert had described, for all English boys have heard of, the 
monkeys who live on the Rock. They are protected by strict 
laws, and are much talked of, but seldom seen, inhabiting the 
higher and eastern part, unless they are driven down by cold 
winds. There is a myth that their ancestors came over from 
Africa in days when an isthmus, instead of a strait, was between 
the two countries ; a theory not impossible to entertain. 



MALAGA. 



211 



CHAPTER XXV, 



MALAGA. 




B 



ESSIE was awake at dawn, 
and looked out of the little 
round port-hole, as well as she 
could, which was close by her 
head, in the hot, stuffy berth of 
the ladies' cabin. The Andalu- 
sian lady was still asleep in a 
berth below, and so was Miss 
Lejeune, and there was no oc- 
casion for stirring yet ; but they 
must have reached Malaga, for 
the ship was at rest, though not 
quiet, Men were trampling about 
overhead, tumbling heavy barrows, 
and delighting, apparently, in all 
those noises least soothing to 
sleepers below. 

Bessie climbed softly down from 
her high perch, and as she had slept in her boots, in a very few 
minutes was ready to go up on deck, where for half an hour she 
had to herself a lovely scene ; the glowing day coming slowly 
into the sky, and pouring its light over the town, which was close 
at hand, for the steamer was tied up to the pier. 

When the party was assembled, they left the boat, and walked 
across the Alameda to the hotel, baggage following, and were 
before long established in comfortable rooms, with baths and break- 
fast to follow. 



ARMS OF GRANADA. 



212 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THKOUGH SPAIN. 



They were not in good condition for enjoying the sights of 
Malaga. The sad scene of the day before was still fresh upon 
their hearts. Tommy, especially, missed his companion, and every 
moment reminded him of the poor little fellow, and his forlorn 
face at parting. Miss Lejeune reported that she had passed a 
vile night on the Cristoforo Colon, and Mr. Horner was always 
somewhat knocked up by sea excursions, while Bessie was by ten 
o'clock as sleepy as a cat, after her early ascent upon deck. 




THE CATHEDRAL AND PORT UK MALAGA. 



As they were loitering over coffee at that hour, — for they had 
not succeeded in getting it sooner, — Miss Lejeune said : 

" Why do we go on to Granada to-day ? We do not feel like 
going out now to see the town. We might all try the very attract- 
ive beds which I have been regarding with longing, and see Malaga 
by and by, in the cool part of the day." 

"Very good." said Mr. Horner; "the only reason for pressing 
on is, — letters." 



MALAGA. 



213 



" Yes, letters ! It is an age since we have had any. Still, it 
will make only one day's difference." 

" Do stay, papa, I am so sleepy ! " said Bessie. 

So they stayed over twenty-four hours at Malaga, which they 




BANKS OF THE DARRO. 



had not intended to do, thinking it not an especially attractive 
town. They found, however, interesting pictures in the cathedral, 
and in the hospitable private house of an American gentleman, 



214 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

living in Malaga, the most beautiful Alonzo Cano they had seen. 
Miss Lejeune was delighted with it; it fulfilled all her desire to 
give this painter a high place among the Spanish masters. 

The Alameda, or shady walk, is long and wide, with a hand- 
some fountain, said to have been ordered by Charles the Fifth, 
the Emperor, for his palace at Granada, then seized by Barbarossa, 
but afterward regained by the Spaniards. 

" How do you feel, Bessie," said her father, as they were stroll- 
ing along under the trees of the Alameda, "at hearing of your 
Barbarossa down here?" 

"Is it not wonderful," she replied, "when we thought we left 
him sound asleep in his cavern, waiting for the ravens to cease 
to fly around the mountain. But," she added, " I cannot be 
thinking of German Emperors now. Only think, papa, to-morrow 
we shall be in Granada, and need attend to nothing but our dear 
Moors." 

In fact, after the Homers had reached Granada, and were estab- 
lished in the Washington Irving Hotel, all their previous impres- 
sions of Spain grew pale before the charm of the life they were 
now beginning upon. 

It was June ; the weather was lovely : the roses and pomegranates 
and jasmines were in perfection of bloom, perfuming the air, 
nightingales were singing everywhere, and the sound of fountains 
and falling water made a running accompaniment to their music ; 
in short, everything was in harmony with the romance of the 
Alhambra. 

North of Granada rises a long ridge of rocky land between two 
rivers, the Darro and Xenil ; the ridge slopes downwards towards 
the town, intersected by a long avenue of elm-trees, but spreading 
out near the top into two tablelands, or broad terraces, bordered 
by steep ravines. On the western terrace stands the Alhambra, its 
base washed by the Darro. On the eastern one stand the Ver- 
milion Towers, beyond which the land slopes more gently down 
into the precincts of the town of Granada. These two terraces 
were formerly girt with walls and towers, and connected together 




l'UERTA DEL VINO. 



MALAGA. 217 

with winding lanes ; and within the circuit thus fortified, stood the 
palaces and villas of the Caliphs of Granada, as well as their chief 
fortresses ; so many that the enclosure was called a city. There 
were other villas and palaces in the neighborhood, but the Hadhira, 
or court of the Caliphs, on the western plateau, and within the 
walls, constituted the Alharabra proper. The walls and their enclo- 
sure occupy the greater part of this terrace ; but there is some 
level ground outside, and this has been availed of for two hotels, 
facing each other upon the road which leads to the grand gate of 
entrance — the Siete Suelos, and the Washington Irving. Nothing 
could be more charming then their situation, in the leafy avenue, 
planted by tall elms, surrounded by their own gardens and those 
of neighboring villas, overlooking, on one side, the crumbling orange- 
colored walls of the Alhambra, and on the other a view extending 
to the snowy slopes of the Sierra Nevada. There is but little to 
choose between the two hotels ; at present, they are both well kept ; 
the Homers were advised, in Malaga, to take the Washington Irv- 
ing, and a sort of loyalty, as Americans, to the name, perhaps 
influenced them in the decision. They had excellent rooms in an 
angle commanding all the different views possible. A pleasant 
English family were established in the house ; opposite, at the Sieta 
Suelos, a gay party of artists were coming and going, and in the 
evenings they sat before the door, striking the guitar and singing 
Malaguenas. This, then, was the culmination of the Spanish tour ; 
with everything so enchanting around them, the Homers were con- 
tent to let the time slip by as it would, seeing and enjoying all, 
without haste, but not without rest. The grounds are open to all, 
to wander about at will, and friendly guides are at hand to con- 
duct and explain. 

First of all, after they had arrived and seen how delightful it 
was, came their thirst for letters ; and Mr. Horner and Tommy 
walked down into the town, along the steep, broad, shaded road, 
which reminded them not a little of the descent from Heidelberg 
Castle. They returned in several hours, hot, and out of breath with 
coming fast up the height, in their desire to share the big budget 



218 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



from America and Luz, which had been accumulating at the bank- 
er's. Again good news ; everything right on both sides of the 
Atlantic ; the Pyrenees party still without events, but happy. 

"I am so glad mamma keeps perfectly well!" said Bessie. 

This sentence betrayed a thought 
that had possessed them all secretly 
since hearing the death of Mrs. 
Vaughan ; a vague dread that 
something might be wrong with 
their own dear ones. 

" The usual amount of engage- 
ments and marriages in America," 
remarked Miss Lejeune, looking 
up from her letters. 

" You always say that, aunt 
Dut," said Tommy, who, having 
received no letters of his own. 
was hanging round to pick up 
intelligence from the rest, while 
they, each completely absorbed in 
his or her own budget, paid but 
little attention to the exclamations 
of the others. 

" Mary has had a telegram from 
Mr. Hervey, to say he had reached 
New York ! " cried Bessie. 

"Extravagant man!' 1 said Miss 
Lejeune, putting down her letter. 
" Only two words, which they had 
agreed upon to mean all right," 
went on Bessie. " She don't say 
what they were ! " 

" Well, well," remarked Miss 
Lejeune, and once more continued, as she fumbled with the sheets 
of the correspondence, " well, well ! " 




GYPSY GIRL. 



MALAGA. 219 

The windows were opened and the air fluttered lightly about the 
room. A dish of great oranges stood on the table, with which 
Tommy was filling up his time and stomach. A bunch of orange 
blossoms, and some full-blown roses, were tumbling about in a 
goblet where Bessie had hastily thrust them, as she came in, 
hearing the good news that letters had arrived. All Miss Lejeune's 
sketching materials were lying on a chair where she too had 
dropped them when Mr. Horner came in. Her sketch was spoiled, 
for the orange colored wash over the turrets of the Siete Suelos 
would dry before she could finish it. No matter ; that was nothing, 
since they had such good news. 

Bessie finished her letters and went to the window. 

" Let us send for mamma and Mary, and then stay here for- 
ever!" she said. "I see no reason for going further." 

"And Phil," said Tommy. 

"Of course I mean Phil! Come here, Tommy, and look down 
at this gypsy ! " 

Their rooms were in the third story, so that they overlooked 
the narrow terrace garden belonging to the hotel. They saw a 
girl dressed in all the picturesque garments of a Spanish gypsy, 
standing with a jug poised on her head in an attitude for a model, 
while a young lady was rapidly sketching her in charcoal. The artist 
was surrounded by several small children watching her work. The 
gypsy beamed all over her face, with vanity and satisfaction, 
evidently thinking that her personal charms had recommended 
her. 

Tommy said softly, "I do believe that is the American girl we saw 
at Irun with all the bags and umbrellas." 

"Where can she have been since!" exclaimed Bessie ; "and 
where are the rest ? " 

As the Homers were entering the pleasant dining-room for 
almuerzo, the whole force of waiters and maids were engaged in 
speeding the parting of some people who were being packed into 
an open carriage with their numerous belongings. 

"It is the other H's!" cried Miss Lejeune. 



220 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA 

AFTER the middle of the thirteenth century, the constantly 
contracting circle of Moorish dominion in Spain shrank into 
the narrow limits of the province of Granada. Yet on this com- 
paratively small point of their ancient domain, the Saracens erected 
a new kingdom of sufficient strength to resist for more than two 
centuries, the united forces of the Spanish monarchies. 

The Moorish territory of Granada contained within a circuit of 
about one hundred and eighty leagues, all the physical resources 
of a great empire. Its broad valleys were intersected by mountains 
rich in mineral wealth, occupied by a robust and hardy population. 
Its pastures were fed by abundant streams, and its coasts com- 
manded the commerce of the Mediterranean. In the midst, crown- 
ing the whole, rose the beautiful city of Granada. In the days of 
the Moors it was encompassed by a wall flanked by a thousand 
and thirty towers ; and above it rose the fortress of the Alhambra, 
whose magnificent ruins still manifest the taste, opulence, and 
luxury of its proprietors. The streets are represented to have 
been narrow, the houses lofty, with turrets of curiously wrought 
larch or marble, and with cornices of shining metal, that glittered 
like stars through the dark foliage of the orange groves ; the whole 
is compared to " an enamelled vase, sparkling with hyacinths and 
emeralds," in the florid strains of Arabic writers, describing the 
glories of Granada. 

At the foot of this Aladdin's palace, lies the cultivated plain 
called the vega, so celebrated as the arena for more than two 
centuries of the contests between Moor and Christian. The Arabs 



THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



223 



expended upon it all their knowledge of cultivation. The waters 
of the Xenil flowed through it in a thousand channels, for its 
perfect irrigation. A constant succession of fruits and crops was 
obtained throughout the year. Products of opposite latitudes were 
transplanted there with success. The hemp of the North flourished 
in the shadow of the vine and the olive. The seaports swarmed 
with traders from Europe, Africa, and the Levant, so that 
"Granada became the common city of all nations." Such was the 
reputation of its citizens, that " their bare word was more relied 
upon than a written contract is now among us," as a Spanish 
writer says. 

The sovereigns of Granada were often distinguished by liberal 
tastes, and they loved above all the display of a princely pomp. 
Each day presented a succession of 
fetes and tournaments, in which the 
knights displayed their horseman- 
ship and their skill in the feats 
peculiar to their nation. Life was 
with them a long carnival ; but the 
people were diligent, industrious, 
and honest. 

The Moorish and Christian 
knights were in the habit of ex- 
changing visits at their respective 
courts, for the Spaniards had been 
gradually rising in civilization to the 
level of their enemies, and the two races were now upon a foot- 
ing of equality, and even friendship ; and thus the Spanish Arabs 
were distinguished by the same qualities as the Christian knights. 

This combination of Oriental magnificence and knightly prowess 
served to soften the defects common to Mohammedan institutions, 
and enabled the reign of the Moors to hold out against the 
Christian arms for so long a time. Moreover, its strength lay less 
in its own resources, than in the weakness of its enemies, who, 
after the death of Saint Ferdinand, in the thirteenth century, 




FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 



224 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

became more and more divided by quarrels amongst themselves. 
But the union of all the provinces by the marriage of Ferdinand 
and Isabella, put an end for the time to such dissensions. No 
sooner had these sovereigns restored internal tranquility to their 
dominions, and made the strength effective which had been 
acquired by their union under one government, than they turned 
their eyes upon that part of Spain over which the crescent had 
reigned for nearly eight centuries. Amicable relations were exist- 
ing between the Christian princes, and the rulers of Granada, 
until 1466, when the Caliph, who at that time succeeded to the 
throne, resisted the payment of the annual tribute imposed on his 
predecessors, proudly saying that "the mints of Granada coined no 
longer gold, but steel." 

The storm burst upon a small town called Zahara, which was 
surprised one night by this Moorish monarch, Muley Abul Hacen ; 
who, scaling the walls under the favor of a furious tempest, swept 
away the whole population of the place, — men, women and children, — 
in slavery to Granada. 

The Spaniards soon retaliated by seizing the ancient city of 
Alhama, famous for its baths, and the favorite resort of the mon- 
archs of Granada, embellished with all the magnificence of a royal 
residence. This first conquest by the Christians was achieved 
with a gallantry and daring unsurpassed by any other during the 
war. The report of the disaster fell like the knell of their own 
doom upon the Moors. 

Ay de mi, Alhama — 
Woe is me, Alhama — 

is the burden of the melancholy ballad about it. But the intelligence 
spread satisfaction throughout Castile, and was especially agreeable 
to the sovereigns. After learning the news, a chronicler of the 
time says, " During all the while he sat at dinner the prudent 
Ferdinand was working in his mind the course best to be adopted." 
The Moors now besieged Alhama in their turn, and for more 
than three weeks it was in peril ; but the monarch alarmed by 



THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 225 

seeing Christian reinforcements, broke up his encampment and 
retreated to his capital ; and although he made another attempt to 
regain it, the Christians took possession of the city, and entered 
it with great ceremony. The mosques were purified and consecrated 
as Christian temples. Isabella, the queen, presented bells, crosses 
and sumptuous plate to show that she entered into the war 
through zeal for the true faith. The army was enlarged, and she 
caused a fleet to be manned, to sweep the Mediterranean as far 
as the Straits of Gibraltar. 

Thus the struggle went on with many feats of daring and; 
bravery on both sides. The names of the heroes who fought in 
this prolonged contest are among the most famous warriors of all 
time. 

Division among the Moors did more for the Christians than 
any successes of their own ; quarrels between the women of the 
Alhambra led to a war in the streets of Granada. One of the 
wives of Abul Hacen lowered her son in a basket from a tower 
of the Alhambra, to save him from the jealousy of another 
sultana. This was the beginning. Later, the father was expelled 
from his own capital. He sought refuge in Malaga, which still 
adhered to him, with some other places of importance, while 
Granada, and by far the larger part of the kingdom, proclaimed the 
authority of the boy who escaped in the basket — Abu Abdallah, or 
Boabdil, as he is usually called. 

He was surnamed, by the Spanish writers, " El Chico" the Little, — 
to distinguish him from another Boabdil, his uncle, — and " El Zogoybi" 
the Unfortunate, by the Moors, as the last of his race destined to 
wear the crown of Granada. The foolish ambition of the sultana, 
his mother, not only destroyed the future of the son she quarrelled 
for, but brought ruin upon the Moorish dynasty. 

Thus the war went on, and much blood was shed on both 
sides. Isabella was the soul of the contest. She sometimes visited 
the camp in person, encouraging the soldiers with gifts of clothes 
and money. She followed the army from place to place, and was 
with the camp in the spring of 1491, when the Spanish army 



226 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH Sl J AlN. 



finally sat down before Granada, not more than six miles Irom the city. 
It is said that one night about the middle of July, the drapery 
of Isabella's tent took fire, and was not extinguished until several 




MOORISH ARCHES. 



of the neighboring ones had been consumed. The queen and every- 
body else escaped unhurt ; but the accident caused Isabella to 
determine upon building a safer town, which was finished in 
less than three months It was called Santa Fe. 




1KJS HERMAN AS, ALHAMBRA. 



THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 229 

There is a pretty anecdote of Gonsalvo of Cordova, the Gran 
Capitan, connected with this event, which relates that when he 
learned how the fire had consumed the royal tent, with the greater 
part of the queen's clothing, he supplied the queen so amply from 
the splendid wardrobe of his wife, as led Isabella to say that the 
fire had done more execution in his castle than in her own 
quarters. 

Every one has read the story of the surrender, in Washington 
Irving's Conquest of Granada. The besieged city was suffering the 
distress of famine. Autumn arrived, a rigorous winter was approach 
ing ; the people sank into deep despondency. They remembered 
that Boabdil had been pronounced unfortunate at his birth, and 
they recalled that the fall of Granada had been foretold at the 
time of the capture of Zahara. The councillors of the monarch 
said " Surrender ! " they declared that the people could no longer 
support their sufferings. 

Boabdil el Chico yielded to the general voice. 

"Allah achbar ! God is great," he said. "It is in vain to 
struggle against the will of Heaven." 

The capitulation for the surrender was signed on the twenty- 
fifth of November, 1481. - 

" It was a night of doleful lamentings within the walls of the 
Alhambra, for the household of Boabdil were preparing to take a 
last farewell of that delightful abode. Before the dawn of day, a 
mournful cavalcade moved obscurely out of a postern gate of the 
Alhambra, and departed through one of the most retired quarters 
of the city. The mother of Boabdil rode on in silence, with 
dejected, yet dignified demeanor ; but his wife and all the house- 
hold gave way to loud lamentations as they gave a last look at 
the mass of gloomy towers behind them. At a hamlet at some 
distance from the city, they waited until they should be joined by 
the king. 

" At dawn the Christian camp was in motion, and a body 
of distinguished cavaliers proceeded to take possession of the 
Alhambra. The Moorish king came forth from the gate to deliver 



230 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN 



up the palace. He passed mournfully on along the same road by 
which the cavaliers had come, descending to the Vega to meet the 
Catholic sovereigns. The troops entered the Alhambra, the gates 




ARABESQUE, IN THE ALHAMBRA. 

jf which were wide open, and all its splendid courts and halls 
silent and deserted. 

"The sovereigns waited below with impatience. At length they saw 
the silver cross elevated on the Torre de la Vela, and beside it was 
planted the pennon of the glorious apostle St. James." * * * 



THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA. 



231 



Having surrendered the keys to the sovereigns, the unfortunate 
Boabdil joined his family. At two leagues distance the cavalcade 
ascended an eminence commanding the last view of Granada. As 
they arrived at this spot, the Moors paused to take a farewell 
gaze at their beloved city. Never had it appeared so lovely in 
their eyes. While they yet looked, a light cloud of smoke burst 
forth from the citadel, and presently a peal of artillery, faintly 
heard, told that the city was taken. 

The heart of Boabdil could no longer contain itself. 

"Allah achbar ! God is great," he said; but he burst into 
tears. 

His mother, indignant, said : 

"You do well to weep like a woman for what you failed to 
defend like a man." 

The point of view commanding the last prospect of Granada, 
is known as El ultimo suspiro del Moro ; or, the last sigh of the 
Moor. 




R « ■■-'"■' 



•^•"?Ucrrc.f»«««ya^ir 



£32 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



THE ALHAMBRA. 



UNDER the Moors, the Alhambra was the scene of many 
romantic events, the legends connected with which still 
people its courts with phantoms. 

The road leading up from the hotel to the entrance is shaded 
with tall trees, and water trickles down the side making the 



^">- 




wMfAM^ 



PLAN OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



grass fresh and green. The walls are of a beautiful red or orange 
color, which is shared by the soil ; this alone gives a glowing 
aspect to the scene. The chief place of entrance (2 on the 
plan) is called the Gate of Justice. It is more than a gate, 
being a square tower, the upper part of which contains rooms 
where people live. Their little flower pots filled with bright blossoms, 



THE ALHAMBRA. 23:] 

stand on the ledge of the window. The horseshoe arch of 
entrance is below ; for as the ground is terraced, the level of the 
palace is above that of the arch, and is approached by an ascent, 
and a staircase within the tower. 

Over this arch there is carved an outstretched hand pointing 
upward, to avert the evil eye ; over the second one a key is 
sculptured ; a symbol of the power of the prophet to open and 
shut the gates of heaven. The passages within the tower wind 
about under several arches, until they lead out and up to the 
walled-in plateau, on which the Alhambra stands. A little farther 
■on is another gateway, and building, called the Puerto del Vino (3) ; 
it formerly contained a Mihrab, or Moorish chapel. 

From the high terrace near these two gates, is a lovely view 
across the deep ravine to the Sierra Nevada, always slightly 
touched with snow, and taking on beautiful lights, according to the 
time of day ; dark blue in the morning, and, as evening approaches, 
roseate ; for in addition to the sunset tints, the natural color of 
the soil and stone make the tone of the range warm and rich. 
Here opens a large plaza, called the Place of the Cisterns, on one 
side of which is the Alcazaba, or fortress, with its dismantled castle (5), 
while opposite it appears the palace of Charles the Fifth (6), which 
lie began to build, but never finished. He destroyed the greater part 
of the beautiful winter palace of the Moors, to make room for his 
own, and afterward abandoned his plan, leaving the unfinished 
ruin, with open arches, staring to the sky. It is said that earth- 
quakes discouraged him from going on with his palace. There are 
planted garden beds, and walks leading along the side of it, to a 
plain, unadorned wall, through which a door leads to the real 
glories of the Alhambra. 

Here found themselves one morning, Mr. Horner and Miss Le- 
jeune, Bessie and Tommy ; Bessie grumbling, as usual, at Charles the 
Fifth, and Ferdinand and Isabella, who have left their traces so often 
in the destruction of Moorish ornament. 

" I do believe," said Bessie, " that Isabella herself rode on a white- 
wash brush ! " 



234 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 




COURT OF MYRTLES. 



" Perhaps she was 
the old woman — 

Old woman, said I, 

To sweep the cobwebs 

from the sky ! " 

said Tommy. 

They passed on 
through the gate. 
Charles the Fifth 
and Isabella were for- 
gotten. The transi- 
tion was magical ; they 
felt at once trans- 
ported into other 
times, and were tread- 
ing the scenes of the 
Arabian Nights. They 
were in the Court of 
Myrtles, a long, open 
patio (7), of which 
the floor is taken up 
by an immense basin, 
more than a hundred 
feet long, bordered by 
myrtle-trees and roses. 
It is surrounded by 
a light arcade of 
Moorish columns, and 
at the upper end 
rises the great Tower 
of Comares. (8) The 
pillars here and else- 
where are of extreme 
lightness, and the or- 



THE ALHAMBRA. 237 

namentation of the capital varies in each ; slender arches spring 
from the capitals, and bend gracefully till they meet. A dado of 
azulejos, or colored tiles, runs along the wall, from the floor, of 
brightest colors, with great variety of patterns. The eye is never 
tired of following these designs, nor those of the arabesque work 
above, into which are woven Arabic sentences, in the graceful let- 
tering of that language. Across the water is seen the vista made 
by the entrance to the Hall of Ambassadors (9), the chief room of 
the Tower of Comares. The tower and its colonnades are reflected 
in the clear still water of the pool. 

"Oh, how lovely!" exclaimed Miss Lejeune. "This surpasses all 
my dreams of it." 

" Let us stay here, and not go any further to-day ! " said Bessie. 

Tommy was well content to study the goldfish in the clear 
water, rather startled, as he leaned over, to catch the perfect reflec- 
tion of his own face on the surface of the pool, with behind it 
an intensely blue sky studded with woolly white clouds. He looked 
up instinctively, and saw above the graceful fretwork of the court, 
the real bright sky and clouds, just like the mirrored ones. 

" Our guide apparently expects us to move on," remarked Mr. 
Horner. "We can let him gallop us through once, and then come 
at our leisure as often as we like." 

" Not gallop us, papa," said Bessie, taking hold of his hand , 
" a quiet little trot will satisfy him." 

They were led into the Court of Lions (10), where Bessie was at 
once in love with the somewhat clumsy animals of Arab origin, 
that form the group of the fountain in the centre. 

" I must embrace this one ! " she cried, and did so, to Tommy's 
disgust and mortification. He looked round to see if there were 
any observers. 

These lions must not be looked at as efforts of sculpture to 
represent accurately the king of beasts, but as emblems of strength 
and courage. They are of white marble, with manes like the scales 
of a griffin, and water comes from their mouths. 

The hall of the Abencerrages (11) leads from the Court of Lions. 



238 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

Its name comes from the legend that Boabdil, the last king of 
Granada, invited the chiefs of this line to a banquet, and had 
them taken out, one by one, after the feast, through a small 
wicket, to the fountain of the Court of Lions, where they were 
beheaded ; a massacre which contributed to his ruin, as they were 
the main support of his kingdom, and had helped to put him on 
his throne. The stains of their blood are still pointed out. 

"Does not that shake your faith in Boabdil, Bessie?" asked her 
father, when they were listening to this tale of the guide. 

" I do not believe a word of it ! " said Bessie indignantly. 
" Boabdil would not have been such a fool, and I have great 
doubts as to the existence of the Abencerrages ! " 

The guide, however, to enforce the story, told how there was 
often heard at night, in the Court of Lions, a low, confused 
murmur, with the distant clanking of chains. 

The Abencerrages were a family or faction said to hold a promi- 
nent position in the Moorish kingdom of Granada in the thirteenth 
century. The name appears to have been derived from one Yussuf 
ben Serragh, the head of the tribe in the time of Mohammed the 
Seventh, who did that sovereign good service in his struggles to 
retain the crown of which he was three times deprived. Nothing 
is known of the family with certainty, but the name is familiar in 
romance. 

On the opposite side of the Court is the Hall of the Two 
Sisters (14), paved with white marble and beautifully incrusted 
with tiles. It leads to the Mirador of Lindaraxa, a smaller room, 
containing a window with a double Moorish arch which opens upon 
a patio full of orange-trees. The bright sunlight glanced upon the 
ripe fruit and shining leaves without, and the arabesque work 
framed the scene like a picture. This was one of the women's 
apartments. The name is from two marble slabs of equal size in 
the pavement, which are called the Two Sisters. 

Another room leading from the Court of Lions (12) contained 
some strange pictures, painted on the ceiling, which interested both 
Bessie and Miss Lejeune. It is a question how they come to be 



THE ALHAMBRA. 24T 

there, and who painted them, for the Moors were forbidden by the 
Koran to represent living subjects. A French writer imagines that 
John Van Eyck went to the Alhambra in 1428, and that he 
painted for the Moorish kings. The subjects are singular, and 
hard to make out, especially as they could only be seen in a 
very uncomfortable position for the head. 

Bessie liked to imagine that a Caliph had employed some great 
Christian artist to come and paint for him ; perhaps even a Bel- 
lini, from Venice ; but Miss Lejeune pronounced the work to be- 
ef later date, and more likely after the conquest of the Moors. 

The two stayed so long that they found themselves alone, and' 
hastened to regain the others, who had retraced their steps through 
the Myrtle Court to the Hall of the Ambassadors. 

This is the largest in the Alhambra, and occupies all the Tower 
of Comares. It is a great square room, high to the centre of the 
dome. It was the grand reception room, and the throne of the 
Caliph was placed opposite the entrance. Now, like all the other 
rooms, it is bare ; the imagination has to furnish them all with 
thrones, divans, and rich couches and cushions, as well as with little 
feminine trifles for the niches, such as vases, and trinkets. 

The walls are so thick that the windows make deep recesses, 
from which are lovely views across the Vega, and towards the 
other buildings of the enclosure. It is from one of these windows- 
that Ayeshah, the mother of Boabdil, is said to have lowered him 
in a basket to save his life. 

The little group stood in the middle of the hall, listening to the 
guide's explanations. When he turned, however, to lead them 
further, Bessie sat resolutely down in the embrasure of a window,, 
saying : 

" I can no more ! I have seen enough for one time ; my 
head is bewildered, my legs are tired," — 

" And you are hungry ! " finished her father, taking out his 
watch. " I suspect that is the case with all of us, and that we 
have done enough for once. Ah, yes ; high noon, and high time 
for almuerzo." 



;242 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



And so they explained their wishes to the guide, who, accus- 
tomed to driving a swarm of visitors before him, as flies are 
urged on by a whisk, was amazed, and fancied they were bored ; 
he began a sort of an apology for the nature of the entertain- 
ment. 

" It is because we enjoy it so much that we want to keep the 
rest for another time," said Miss Lejeune, in elegant Castilian. 
Either the Castilian, or the sentiment, was not fully understood by 
the man, who still appeared downcast ; but he understood a peseta 
which Mr. Horner put in his hand, and consented to show them 
the shortest way out. 

The sun glared bright on the plaza, but the shady road 
outside the walls was cool and perfumed, and a few steps brought 
them to the hotel. 







MORE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 243 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



MORE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 



THE ground the Homers had been over that morning in- 
cluded the greater part of the palace of the Alhambra ; there was 
still left the suite of rooms devoted to the bath by the Moorish pos- 
sessors of the place (13). It contains preparations for every luxury 
connected with bathing ; raised niches for couches, with cushions, 
fountains, balconies for music, which they enjoyed after the bath, 
and baths themselves, of white marble. 

Day after day the Homers visited the palace. It became their habit 
to meet in the Court of Lions after their sketching or exploring in 
other places was over. There was nothing to prevent Bessie from 
wandering by herself all over the pile of buildings, and this she 
greatly enjoyed, though sometimes a little puzzled by the windings 
she discovered in the lower regions, underneath the Tower of 
Comares, where there are some long dark passages. She loved to 
sit in the small garden of Linderaxa, shut in on all sides by col- 
umns and walls. It is full of orange-trees, the same that are seen 
from the Mirador of Linderaxa, and in the middle of them is a 
fountain. Here she liked to bring Irving's AUiambra ; it was 
just the place to read his legends of its first inhabitants. She 
only wished that he had recorded, or invented, more of them ; for 
every nook suggests a mystery. Who was Linderaxa for whom the 
beautiful mirador was named, and who used to wander in the little 
garden, and what was her fate ? Did she live and die happy, or 
did she pine away ? 

Bessie envied the experiences of Mr. Irving, who lived in rooms 
actually within the palace precincts. He had the place all to him- 
self, and learned to know it before the great band of tourists had 



244 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 



invaded the spot, or guide-books, with their convenient gossip, laid 
bare the secrets of the Alhambra. But she had the consolation of 
knowing that it is now in far better condition than in Irving's 
time. 

Early in the century, the Alhambra was in a state of ruin, from 

neglect. The governor's wife kept 
her donkey in the chapel, and used 
one of the patios for a sheep-pen. 
Afterwards the place was turned 
into barracks, and the blue and 
white pavements of the courts 
were torn up. The French, in 
1812, ruined the towers and blew 
up several of them, among others 
the beautiful Siete Suelos, in order 
that the Alhambra might be use- 
less thereafter as a fortress, and car- 
ried off all that was portable within 
the walls. 

In those days the Court of Lions 
was encumbered with rubbish. The 
animals were tumbled down on the 
ground. It was a woman named 
Tia Antonia, described by Irving, 
who restored it. She was permitted 
to make a living by showing the 
gardens, and she set the lions on 
their legs, cleared away the rubbish, 
and did her best to make improve- 
ments. In spite of her efforts, 
and some trifling restorations by 
authorities, neglect ruled. Several 
slight earthquakes added to the ruin. At length, in 1862, Queen 
Isabella the Second, mother of the present king, who was herself then 
on the throne, made a visit to Granada, and shocked, we may suppose, 




ENTRANCE TO HALL OF AMBASSADORS. 



MORE OF THE A LH AM BRA. 245 

at the discreditable condition of the greatest glory of her kingdom, 
she commissioned Senor Contreras, a gentleman of learning and ability, 
to repair the palace of the Moorish kings, beginning at her own ex- 
pense. He lives on the spot, and is still at work, gradually restor- 
ing here and there, with great taste and judgment, the different 
halls, reproducing the original design where it was lost, but never 
making new innovations. His work has the fault, perhaps, of look- 
ing too fresh and modern, but this cannot be avoided ; and there is 
so much of the old left that the two help each other, and work 
together to give a true impression of the ancient Alhambra. 

Another of Bessie's favorite retreats was the Mirador de la Reina 
(15), which is reached by a long corridor from the Hall of Am- 
bassadors. It contains the prettiest little tocador imaginable, with 
arched windows on all sides, as open as a summer house, with 
superb views ; for here the bluff is very steep, and falls off to the 
valley of the river. Tocador means dressing-room ; the guide called 
it in his rudimentary English, " combing-house," and Bessie and 
Tommy always spoke of it as the combing-house. It is not more 
than nine feet square ; in one corner is a marble slab drilled with 
holes, through which perfumes used to be wafted up from below 
during the toilet of the sultana. 

This pretty little place is said to have been refitted by Italian 
artists in the early part of the last century, when Philip the Fifth, 
the Bourbon, brought his queen, Isabella of Parma, to the Alhambra. 
This brilliant royal party brought back a transient gayety and 
loveliness to the scene ; since then its courts have been silent 
and deserted by royalty. 

From the narrow balcony which surrounds the combing-house, 
the palace and gardens of the Generalife are seen. Between them 
and the Alhambra is a narrow gorge. The children found that by 
scrambling down from a gate below the tower of Comares, they 
reached a path leading along the walls on the outside quite 
around the fortifications, by which they could regain the road 
leading down from the Generalife to their hotel. The path was 
rough, and furrowed by channels, where, in rainy weather, streams 



246 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 




'jfa^&g' ~K 



EI. MIRADOR I)E LA REIN A. 



must pour through. 
It was chiefly fre- 
quented by gypsies 
passing up from 
their quarter, flocks 
of sheep, or little 
parties of donkeys ; 
but the steep sides 
of the gorge were 
sprinkled with wild 
flowers, and the 
yellow red walls of 
the fori ress rose 
high, with here and 
there a square tower, 
overshadowed by 
trees growing within 
the enclosure, which 
at this end is a 
deserted, uncultiva- 
ted field overrun 
with weeds, though 
pomegranates strug- 
gle up un cared for, 
covered with their 
gorgeous scarlet 
blossoms. One of 
these square towers 
is the Torre de las 



MORE OF THE ALHAMBRA. 247 

Infantas, once the residence of Moorish princesses, and the scene 
of Irving's pretty tale about Zohra, Zorayda, and Zorahayda. Seiior 
Contreras has recently been restoring its mosaics, arabesques, and 
azulejos. He has made a spick and span new little Moorish 
retreat of it, which might make one long to be a Moorish 
princess, with all the modern improvements. 

An arch over the children's favorite path, built by Charles the Fifth, 
is modern, and has not the Moorish curve. It is now overgrown with 
ivy, and is crumbling in parts, so that it has as much the air of 
antiquity as the rest. It is said that Charles the Fifth abandoned 
his palace on account of the earthquakes which visited it from 
time to time. 

"Those earthquakes that frightened Charles the Fifth, were only 
Boabdil shaking the ground from beneath," said Bessie, "to drive him 
off When the Moors return, they do not wish to find Christian 
architecture usurping the place of their palaces." 

The legend says that when the Moors were driven out of Gra- 
nada, only phantoms vanished in ships over the sea to Morocco. The 
real ones were swallowed up in the mountain upon which the Al- 
hambra stands, and there they sit, in silent state, awaiting the 
restoration of their - kingdom. 

" Is it not comforting to think of them down there now ? " said 
Bessie. 

" Is there any telephonic communication, do you think, between 
them and Barbarossa in his mountain ? " asked her father. 

" Communication, but not teleohonic," replied Bessie, readily accept- 
ing his question. " The ravens carry messages to the storks, and 
so they hear twice a year, when the storks pass over and back. 
It is not so swift as the telegraph, but they hear often enough, 
as there is nothing much to tell." 

The Siete Suelos, one of the prettiest bits of ruin, has its legend 
also, according to which, underneath it sit two Moors guarding a 
heavy coffer full of Arabic coins and rich jewels. This tower, as 
has been said, is just opposite or behind the two hotels. The 
other little towers (17, etc.) upon the battlements, are in process of 



248 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN". 

restoration by Senor Contreras, and contain the same beautiful ara- 
besque and mosaics. 

The favorite resort at sunset is the Torre de la Vela, reached by 
passing through the gateway of the Alcazaba (5), and along a brick- 
laid parden walk upon the lofty terrace called the Adarves, laid 
out upon the line of bastions ; a sheer descent into the valley be- 
low. This narrow terrace is planted with roses, jasamine, magnolia, 
and all manner of garden flowers. The platform at the foot of the 
Torre de la Vela is a mass of brilliant geraniums ; many vines, 
one with pale blue blossoms, cling to the walls. 

The panorama from the top of this tower is glorious. Below lies 
Granada, and beyond it stretches the vega, thirty miles in extent, 
and hemmed in by a wall of mountains in every direction. It is 
scattered over with villages ; every foot of its soil has its battle 
and its ballad. 

The Torre de la Vela, or Watch Tower, is so called because 
here hangs a bell intended to be struck once every five minutes, 
from nine in the evening until four in the morning. The bell is 
also rung on the second of January, the anniversary of the day, 
1492, when the Christian flag was first unfurled by Cardinal 
Mendoza, after the surrender of Granada. 

At sunset the snowy tops of the Sierra glow with warm tints ; 
darkness slowly creeps over the plain, and it the raoji is full, the 
effect is wonderful. One evening, careless of dinner, our party 
lingered to watch the fading of daylight, and afterwards went back 
to the Court of Lions, to get the effect of moonlight among the 
arches of the Alhambra. They had to wait a long time for the 
moon to be high enough in the heavens to throw any light down 
upon the courts. The darkness was vague and mysterious. They 
sat upon the low steps of the courtyard, leaning against the 
slender pillars; talked in low voices, of the Moors, and their 
shadows, which might be moving about them. 

Suddenly a shaft of light shot across the patio. The moon had 
climbed the wall, and soon its yellow light flooded the opening, 
and made sharp-cut shadows upon the pavement. 



THE GENERALIFE. 24ft 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



THE GENERALIFE. 



DURING the rest of their stay, the Homers felt very learned 
as to the situation of the different places of interest about 
the Alhambra, and could find their way about without any guide. 
They had procured a general permission to wander over the 
gardens of the Generalife, and here soon Bessie and Tommy 
established a habit of spending the morning. Tommy missed 
Hubert so much, that his usual high spirits forsook him for a 
time ; instead of forming his own plans, and disappearing from 
the family to carry them out, as he used to when Hubert was 
on hand to share them, he stuck close to Bessie, who, indeed, 
was very glad of the change from Fanny Vaughan, who had 
proved a dull and listless child, to Tom, always wide awake, 
and an entertaining companion. The brother and sister, in fact, 
were now becoming intimate for the first time ; for Tom had taken 
the sudden jump from a little boy, petted and laughed at, to a 
manly fellow with opinions to be respected. The absence of Philip, 
like taking a weight off a growing plant, made him shoot up inde- 
pendently. He was already almost as tall as Bessie. 

A road from the Siete Suelos, turning off near the beautiful 
arch of Charles the Fifth, leads to the palace and gardens of the 
Generalife. They belong to the Marquis of Campotejar, better 
known as one of the Grimaldi Pallavicini of Genoa, a Moorish 
race, descended from an uncle of Boabdil, Cidi Aya, who became 
a Christian, and was then called Don Pedro ; to him the Gener- 
alife was given at the time of the conquest of Granada. Thus 
it is that Boabdil's sword is in the possession of the family. 



250 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

Probably none of the present members of it have ever seen their 
lovely estate in Granada. They possess several splendid palaces in 
Italy, but none can rival, for romantic association and lofty 
position, their Spanish castle. 

The long garden walks are lined with oleanders, tall cypress-trees, 
and hedges of myrtle. Through these the entrance is reached, a 
door in a blank wall, which leads into a patio with a garden, 
through which a canal flows under evergreen arches, formed by yews 
twisted and cut into odd patterns. A long gallery with slender pil- 
lars and arches runs along the left, from which the Alhambra is 
seen, close at hand, across the deep ravine. The gardens of the 
Generalife are a series of terraces. By broad steps, one plateau 
after another is reached, up to the highest point where a mirador 
crowns the slopes. The view is very wide. The whole ground-plan 
of the Alhambra fortress can here best be seen and understood, and 
the marvellous range of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. The Court 
of Cypresses forms a part of one of the terraces. It is square, 
with a pond in the centre, surrounded by hedges of roses, and a 
row of immensely tall cypresses, one of them called the Cypress of 
the Sultana ; said to have been two centuries old in the time of 
Boabdil. The trellised grapevines also date back to the time of 
the Moorish kings, as their stems, thick like a tree, readily suggest. 

In the house the ornamentation is almost hidden by whitewash. 
There are some pictures in the principal hall, interesting histor- 
ically, not as works of art. Among them hangs the portrait of 
Boabdil, el Rey Chico, with a fair face and gentle expression. Bessie 
looked long at this picture every time she entered the place. His 
uncle is much fiercer looking, from whom the present proprietor 
is descended. Ferdinand and Isabella are there, and Gonsalvo, 
the Gran Capitan. 

From this mirador a little gate opens upon the wild hillside, 
and the children often scrambled up, still higher, to the Silla del 
Moro. It is but a stone's throw, and there is a kind of path. The 
view is magnificent ; straight down the valley of the Darro, appar- 
ently uninhabited, but in reality peopled with gypsies. They live in 




CYPRESS WALK IN THE GENERALIFE. 



THE GEXERALIFE. 253 

caves underground, and nothing is visible of their populous suburb 
but a luxurious jungle of prickly pears and other shrubs. 

The odd name Generalife is Arabic, and means " the garden of 
the architect." 

Only one portion of the Alhambra now remained unexplored — 
the Torres Vermejas, or Vermilion Towers, which are even a little 
redder in color than the rest. All the walls and towers take 
their color from the ruddy soil ; they are made of a combination 
of flint, earth and lime, called chinarro, which bakes in the sun to 
the hardness of stone. 

These towers (i) stand apart from the enclosure of the Alham- 
bra, upon a hill of their own, a little lower than the level of the 
adawes, from which people can be seen walking about upon the flat 
roofs which form a sort of terrace on top. This is the most 
ancient portion of Granada. It is mentioned by an Arabian poet of 
the middle century, as the Red Castle. Its long line of walls 
crown the hill and follow the curves and dips of the ground most 
gracefully. 

After all, the wooded slopes of the approach to the Alhambra 
lend it one of its chiefest charms. They are kept green by the 
flowing channels of water, and kept alive by the song of many 
birds. 

Wild as the spot may seem, it is yet the result of man's work, 
for it was the Moors who brought the streams, and changed the 
barren rock to this verdant retreat. The elm-trees were sent from 
England, 1812, to the governor of the Alhambra, as a present. 
They flourish well in the richly watered soil, although so unlike 
the trees which are native to it. 

A couple of weeks slipped away like a flash in the enjoyment 
of this wonderful place, and Miss Lejeune and Bessie had not once 
descended so far as the Gate of the Entrance to the city of Granada. 
Mr. Horner had faithfully gone down at due intervals to visit the 
banker for letters, and he reported always on his return, strange 
sights he had seen, and hinted that these must not be neglected 
by the rest of the party. But Miss Augusta was too comfortable 



254 



A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH Si'AIX. 



to lend an car to this sort of talk. She was now leading pre- 
cisely the life she enjoyed the most. 

"What I like best in travelling," — sne began one day to state — 
" Is not to travel," suggested Mr. Horner, who was sitting 





GLARING GRANADA. 



fanning himself, and looking overwarm after a rapid walk through 
the glaring streets of the city. His hands were full of letters and 
newspapers, and he had just been saying to his assembled family, 



THE GEXEliALIFE. 



'1')') 



that they really must go with him the next time, and go through 
the Cathedral and other places. 

— "is," resumed Miss Lejeune, scorning the interruption, "to be 
somewhere where there is enough to enjoy without going after it. 
Some people are chasing continually after the sights in a foreign 
town, and they are so tired after about a week of it that they 
do not know whether they are looking at a church or a Raphael." 




GYPSY QUARTER. 

"Do you think, aunt Dut, that even here we are quite near enough 
to the Alhambra?" asked Bessie. "Would it not be better if the 
Court of Lions was down below here under your window?" 

" I think it would be better if we were actually in the enclos- 
ure ; in a Casa de Huespcdcs. It would be lovely to stay there, 
and if I ever come again, that is what I shall do." 

"When you and Mary come, you can have rooms in the house 
where the crazy man lives," said Tommy. 

He referred to a mild, melancholy man whom they had met 
first wandering about the gypsy quarter ; an American, who had 
accosted them when he heard them speaking English. He said 
tie had been living there nearly a year, in a room which he 



256 A FAMILY FLIGHT THROUGH SPAIN. 

hired not far from the palace, and within the walls. It was in a 
pretty little house at the end of a garden walk overhung with 
grapevine on an arched trellis, and his house-mates were a cat 
and a dog, and a friendly old senora, his landlady, who made 
him comfortable, and chatted with him in Spanish, which he 
knew from living many years in South America. Beyond this, his 
society was limited to chance acquaintances like the Homers, and 
they did not encourage him much, as subjects were few in com- 
mon, and he was of a gloomy turn of mind. 

When they had nothing better to talk about among themselves, 
they speculated upon his probable past, and imagined all sorts of 
reasons why he lived all by himself under the shadow of the tower 
of Comares. 

" Perhaps he is digging for treasure," said Tommy. 

" Perhaps he is a descendant of the Abencerrages," said Bessie. 

He looked much more like a descendant of the Puritans, with a 
decidedly Yankee build and accent, in spite of a black beard, and 
a sombrero and manta such as the Spaniards wear. 

Mr. Horner's private opinion was, that some slight misunderstand- 
ing with a parental government made it safer for him to avoid his 
native land, and to seek, perhaps, a place of some obscurity ; but he 
did not think it worth while to express these views. 

One day while they were having early coffee in the dining- 
room, the waiters told them with some excitement, that a man had 
been found dead that morning in the thicket below the Siete 
Suelos. A pistol-shot had been heard even at the distance of the 
hotel ; and as a pistol was found lying near the body, it was 
supposed he had killed himself. 

"It must be our crazy man!" exclaimed Bessie, "he was trying 
to get into the Treasure Vault of the Moors." 

" Nonsense, Bessie ! " said her father, rather sharply. " I must go 
and see about the matter," 

As a fellow citizen, he felt it a point of duty to interest him- 
self in the case. 

On arriving at the spot where the victim of the accident was 



THE GENERA LIFE. 



2§7 



still lying, Mr. Horner was relieved to find that he did not 
recognize in him their man. He saw the body of a young Span- 
iard quite unknown to him. It was soon recognized by the 
authorities as that of a vagabond youth who for some time had 
been restlessly wandering about the grounds, and who had proba- 
bly shot himself. But oddly enough, their American had disap- 
peared. They never saw him again. 










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